A review of the diverse genetic disorders in the Lebanese population: highlighting the urgency for community genetic services

Abstract

The review lists the genetic diseases reported in Lebanese individuals, surveys genetic programs and services, and highlights the absence of basic genetic health services at the individual and community level. The incidence of individual diseases is not determined, yet the variety of genetic diseases reported is tremendous, most of which follow autosomal recessive inheritance reflecting the social norms in the population, including high rates of consanguinity, which favor the increase in incidence of these diseases. Genetic services including all activities for the diagnosis, care, and prevention of genetic diseases at community level are extremely inadequate. Services are limited to some clinical and laboratory diagnostic services with no genetic counseling. These services are localized within the capital thus preventing their accessibility to high-risk communities. Screening programs, which are at the core of public health prevention services, are minimal and not nationally mandated. The absence of adequate genetic services is attributed to many factors undermining the importance of genetic diseases and their burden on society, the most important of which is genetic illiteracy at all levels of the population, including high-risk families, the general public, and most importantly health care providers and public health officials. Thus, a country like Lebanon, where genetic diseases are expected to be highly prevalent, is in utmost need for community genetics services. Strategies need to be developed to familiarize public health officials and medical professionals with medical genetics leading to a public health infrastructure that delivers community genetics services for the prevention and care of genetic disorders at community level.

Fig. 1

Classification according to mode of inheritance in Lebanon compared to the Arab world