Abnormal hemoglobin variants, ABO, and Rhesus blood group distribution among students in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Communities in Africa constitute a major part of the population that is vulnerable to many erythrocytic hereditary and hematological disorders such as hemoglobinopathies. The frequencies of abnormal hemoglobin variants, ABO, and Rhesus blood groups vary from one population to another. Methods: The aim of this study was to find the prevalence/spectrum of hemoglobin variants, ABO, and Rhesus blood group distribution among 204 undergraduate students of African descent in Port Harcourt in the heart of the Niger Delta geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Standard alkaline cellulose acetate electrophoretic technique using the Shandon electrophoretic tank with tris-ethylene diamine tetracetic acid (EDTA) borate buffer and hemagglutination techniques were employed for the determination of abnormal hemoglobin variants, ABO and Rhesus blood groups, respectively. Results: Two hundred and four apparently healthy students of African descent comprising 124 males (60.8%) and 80 (39.2%) females with a mean age 24.5 ± 6.5 years took part in the study. Subjects were screened for abnormal hemoglobin variants, ABO, and Rhesus groups. Normal hemoglobin accounted for 69.1%, followed by abnormal sickle cell trait in 29.4%, and the sickle cell disease in 1.5% of the study population. The distribution of the various blood groups indicated that 46% were blood group O, 26.6% were group A, 23.6% were group B while 3.8% were group AB. Rhesus (RhD) positivity rate was 93% while RhD negativity accounted for 7%. Conclusion: This research indicates a high prevalence of hemoglobin variants in the study population. Carrier screening and mutation identification can become the cornerstones of any prevention program for hemoglobin disorders. It can also help in the formulation of genetic counseling policies to help prospective couples make informed decisions in a bid to reduce the sickling gene pool in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.

Assessment of Hemoglobin Variants in Patients Receiving Health Care at the Ho Teaching Hospital: A Three-Year Retrospective Study

“…Contrary to findings in this study, in South Western Nigeria, HbAS was the second most frequent hemoglobin genotype with a frequency distribution of 24.5% next to HbA with a frequency distribution of 65.3%, whereas HBAC and HbSC recorded 4.0% and 1.1%, respectively [22]. Similarly, in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, 69.1% subjects had HbA, 29.4% had the sickle cell trait (HbAS), and 1.5% had sickle cell anemia (HbS) [23]. e high prevalence of HbAS recorded in this study implies that in the absence of health policy regulations comprising intensive health education, the possibility of having an increased population of sickle cell disease individuals in the proximate future is very high as inheritance of one copy of an abnormal hemoglobin variant (C, S, and F) in addition to an S hemoglobin makes an individual diseased [24].…”

Use of Mental Health Services in Primary Health Care Delivery Systems in a Developing Country: A Survey of Selected General Hospitals in Delta State Nigeria

“…Globally, mental health disorders constitute a major source of disability and persons with mental health disorders have high mortality rates in middle and low income countries (Wang et al, 2007;Eaton et al, 2011;Whiteford et al, 2013). Mental health disorders also increase the likelihood of living in poverty (Ngui et al, 2010) and creates significant cost to patients and their families in terms of burden of care (JackIde et al, 2013).…”

“…Uwakwe and Otakpor (2014) pointed out that middle and low income countries have significantly low levels of resources and qualified personnel for the provision of mental health services. In Nigeria, mental health services are in a parlous state (Eaton and Agomoh, 2008) and there is a significant treatment gap as a result of the unavailability of a coordinated treatment system, qualified mental health personnel and funding (Eaton et al, 2011). According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), less than 5.8 of Nigeria's GDP is spent on spent health expenditures (CIA, 2009).…”

Frequency Distribution of Hemoglobin Variants and Rhesus Blood Groups Among Pregnant Women

“…Rhesus system emerged as second most important blood group system due to Hemolytic Disease of Newborn (HDN) and its importance in Rh D negative individuals in subsequent transfusions once they develop Rh antibodies (Dennis et al, 1998). People are positive if they have a certain Rh antigen (the D antigen) on the surface of their erythrocytes and people are Rh-negative if they do not have Science Publications AMJ this Rh antigen.…”

“…People are positive if they have a certain Rh antigen (the D antigen) on the surface of their erythrocytes and people are Rh-negative if they do not have Science Publications AMJ this Rh antigen. Rhesus incompatibility can pose a major problem in some pregnancies when the mother is Rhnegative and the fetus is Rh-positive (Avent, 1998) where it can lead to HDN, or erythroblastosis foetalis and it may be fatal to the fetus (Dennis et al, 1998).…”