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Review
. 2012 Sep 1;2(9):a011692.
doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a011692.

World distribution, population genetics, and health burden of the hemoglobinopathies

Thomas N Williams  1 , David J Weatherall
Affiliations
Review

World distribution, population genetics, and health burden of the hemoglobinopathies

Thomas N Williams et al. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. .

Abstract

Although information about the precise world distribution and frequency of the inherited hemoglobin disorders is still limited, there is no doubt that they are going to pose an increasing burden on global health resources in the future. Their high frequency is a reflection of natural selection combined with a high frequency of consanguineous marriages in many countries, together with an epidemiological transition; whereby, as public health measures improve in the poorer countries of the world, more babies with these disorders are surviving to present for treatment.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The world distribution of the origins of hemoglobin S and hemoglobin E. (From Weatherall and Clegg 2001; reprinted, with permission, from the author.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The world distribution of the origins of the α and β thalassemias. (From Weatherall and Clegg 2001; reprinted, with permission, from the author.)
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Three-dimensional photograph of normal red cells aggregating around a malaria-infected red cell to form a rosette. (Image supplied by D.J.P. Ferguson, Oxford University.)
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
A cross-sectional photograph of a rosette as shown in Figure 3. (Image supplied by D.J.P. Ferguson, Oxford University.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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