Alpha-thalassemia is related to prolonged survival in sickle cell anemia

Abstract

We have determined the frequency of deletional alpha-thalassemia in black populations in the USA and Africa that harbor sickle cell anemia. In normals, the frequency of the chromosome bearing a deletion of one of the two normal alpha gene loci, designated (-alpha), ranged from 0.12 to 0.16, and in sickle trait subjects, the frequency ranged from 0.18 to 0.20. By contrast, in sickle cell anemia subjects, the frequency was significantly greater and ranged from 0.22 to 0.33. Analysis demonstrated that the greater frequency in the last group was primarily a result of an increased number of subjects with alpha-thalassemia trait (also called homozygous alpha-thalassemia-2). In addition, the frequency of the (-alpha) chromosome was found to increase progressively with age, supporting the hypothesis that alpha-thalassemia is favorable to the survival of subjects with sickle cell anemia. Thus, individuals who inherit alpha-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia may represent a subgroup of patients with a longer life expectancy.