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

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. © 2012 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved