Hemoglobin E in Northeast India: A review on its origin, distribution, migration and health implication

Abstract

A systematic review of the studies on hemoglobin E in Northeast India has been carried out to understand the magnitude of research undertaken on this aspect during the last seven decades. Owing to the high prevalence of hemoglobin E in this part of India different authors have studied this hemoglobin from different perspectives and found conflicting results. However a systematic review of such studies is lacking from a holistic point of view. Most of the epidemiological, in vitro as well as in vivo studies show signatures of selection with this hemoglobin locus. However, how this polymorphism is maintained at different rates at different geographical region is still a matter of contention. This review will fill the gap from all perspectives starting from the frequency distribution of hemoglobin E and its spread in different parts of Northeast India, its relationship with malaria hypothesis, the population migration, population affinity and most importantly the health implication arising out of it. A probable origin of hemoglobin E among an Austroasiatic population of Northeast India has been postulated with the help of advance molecular anthropological knowledge like the deep rooted markers of mt DNA and Y-chromosome haplotypes.

Hemoglobinopathy in pediatric population: A cross sectional study at tertiary care center in Assam

“…Assam has a mixed population with an ethnic link of Southeast Asia, Aryans, immigrant Oryahs comprising the tea garden laborers, migrating population from other states, Bengalis. [3] In our study, the prevalence of hemoglobinopathies was almost 35.0% while the study by Warghade et al for abnormal Hb had shown a rate of 18.44% and Sanghavi et al as 27%. [4,5] In the study by Warghade et al, a large population (n = 65779) from all over India of all age groups was screened to identify Hb fractions prevalent in India whereas our study incorporated a small number (n = 206) of sick children, specifically suffering from chronic anemia and resident of a state which is a known reservoir for hemoglobinopathies.…”

“…Tea garden community consists of tribal population, originally from Orissa, Chotanagpur, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand where HbS gene is more common than others. [3,15] In the hematological parameters, we found that mean Hb for BTM and SCD was 5.3 ± 0.7 g/dl and 6.0 ± 0.0 g/dl, respectively. Sanghavi et al reported quite similar values for mean Hb of 6.28 ± 1.75 g/dl and 6.5 ± 1.7 g/dl, respectively, for BTM and SCD.…”

Can Exchange Transfusions Using Red Blood Cells from Donors with Hemoglobin E Trait Prevent or Ameliorate Severe Malaria in Patients with Multi-drug Resistant Plasmodium falciparum?

“…Hemoglobin E (HbE) is a hemoglobin variant caused by a point mutation in codon 26 of the b-globin gene which substitutes lysine for glutamic acid. HbAE is most common in Southeast Asia, especially northeast and eastern India and eastern Thailand [3] where more than 50% of some populations have HbAE [4]. In addition, HbAE is also prevalent in Myanmar, Indonesia, and Malaysia [3].…”