Estimation of the prevalence of Hemoglobinopathies in Erbil governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq

BACKGROUND: Thalassemia syndromes and structural hemoglobin variants generate blood crisis of variable clinical symptoms, ranging from mild-to-moderate hematological disorder to severe, lifelong, transfusion-dependent anemia. The aim of current study was to uncover the prevalence of thalassemia and other hemoglobinopathies in the Erbil governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The available data of thalassemia major, thalassemia intermedia, sickle cell disease, sickle cell trait, and HbH and HbE until the end of 2020 were collected retrospectively from Erbil Thalassemia Center in Erbil governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq and analyzed by using Microsoft Excel (Version 2016). RESULTS: An increase in the prevalence of thalassemia syndromes from 30.8/100,000 in 2015 to 37.3/100,000 individuals in the population in 2020 was revealed. The prevalence of all hemoglobinopathies combined increased from 31.9/100,000 to 42.7/100,000 individuals of the population. Thalassemia major was the predominant condition among the hemoglobinopathies with 758 (78.71%) cases out of 963 cases at the end of 2020. CONCLUSION: This rise might be attributed to a large number of consanguineous marriages, the lack of effective prevention programs, and poor legislation. There is an emergent requirement for a preventive program, entailing identification of carriers, genetic counseling, guidelines to differentiate between other microcytic anemias with thalassemia traits, antenatal diagnosis, public education, and sustained legislation.