Haemoglobinopathies are a major health problem worldwide. Because of the high prevalence of these disorders in India and especially in North-East, we undertook this limited student based study as RIMS comprised students from the seven North-East states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. AIMS: To study the prevalence of haemoglobin variants among the North-East students of RIMS and to find out any abnormal haemoglobin pattern pertaining to a particular community. MATERIAL AND METHODS:The present study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, RIMS. From Sept. 2002 to Dec. 2004, our study included 100 student volunteers taking a minimum of ten from each of the seven states. History of presenting complaints, personal, family and past illness were taken. Physical examination was done with special emphasis on appearance, presence of pallor, jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly etc. Blood samples were collected in 2 EDTA vials, one was used for CBC and another for preparation of hemolysate. CBC was done for all cases by electronic cell counter supported by manual hemocytometry, peripheral blood examination and reticulocyte count. All the cases were routinely screened for haemoglobin type using standard alkaline cellulose acetate electrophoresis with Tris-Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid (EDTA) borate buffer. Fetal Hb. estimation, sickling test, serum bilirubin estimation were also done in relevant cases. RESULTS: Out of the 100 student volunteers studied, 98 cases showed HbA pattern in 46 males and 52 females while HbE was seen in 2 cases, 1 male and a female. The prevalence of HbE was 2% in our study, which belonged to the ethnic group of Garo of Meghalaya. Both case had mild anemia with microcytosis and normal reticulocyte count. Peripheral smear showed anisopoikilocytosis and target cells. RBC count, MCH values were within normal range. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that HbA was the predominant haemoglobin type amongst the North-East students of RIMS. HbE was also prevalent amongst these students and common among the mongoloid group of Garo with an incidence of 2%. As this study is limited student volunteer based, it cannot represent any community/population. It emphasises the need for further studies with a larger sample involving many communities of different ethnic groups to support the above findings before drawing a conclusion. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:
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