Objectives: To determine the prevalence of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency among Yemeni people from different regions of the country living in the capital city, Sana'a, giving an indication of its overall prevalence in Yemen.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Yemeni male blood donors attending the Department of Blood Bank at the National Centre of the Public Health Laboratories in the capital city, Sana'a, Yemen. Fluorescent spot method was used for screening, spectrophotometeric estimation of G-6-PD activity and separation by electrophoresis was done to determine the G-6-PD phenotype.
Results: Of the total 508 male blood donors recruited into the study, 36 were G-6-PD deficient, giving a likely G-6-PD deficiency prevalence of 7.1%. None of these deficient donors had history of anemia or jaundice. Thirty-five of these deficient cases (97.2%) showed severe G-6-PD deficiency class II (<10% of normal activity), and their phenotyping presumptively revealed a G-6-PD-Mediterranean variant.
Conclusion: The results showed a significant presence of G-6-PD deficiency with predominance of a severe G-6-PD deficiency type in these blood donors in Sana'a City, which could represent an important health problem through occurrence of hemolytic anemia under oxidative stress. A larger sample size is needed to determine the overall prevalence of G-6-PD deficiency, and should be extended to include DNA analysis to identify its variants in Yemen.
Keywords: Enzymopathy; G-6-PD deficiency; Yemen.