INCIDENCE OF SEVERE GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE (G6PD) DEFICIENCY IN COUNTRYSIDE VILLAGES OF THE CENTRAL CITY OF MANISA, TURKEY

Aim: The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidence of severe G6PD deficiency in selected countryside villages of central city of Manisa in Turkey. Secondarily to inform and protect G6PD deficient people from acute hemolytic crisis and neonatal jaundice by delivery of the updated protective food and drug list prepared in the light of the WHO- G6PD Working Committe reports. Methods: In this study, the incidence of severe G6PD deficiency were screened by Beutler's Fluorescence Spot test among 1604 people living in the contryside villages of central city of Manisa in Turkey. Results: Thirty five out of 1604 tested people were found to have severe G6PD deficiency. The incidence of severe G6PD deficiency were 2.2 % in sampled population. There was a difference for the incidence between male (3.2%) and female (1.14%) as expected due to X-linked heritance. There was no significant differences in the prevalence of severe G6PD deficiency between the countryside villages connected to central city of Manisa. Conclusion: The high incidence of severe G6PD deficiency implies that this inherited metabolite disorder is an important health problem in Manisa region and it is necessary to carry out large-scale screening in the whole population since severe- full G6PD deficiency related health problems are preventable. For this reason it must be included in the pool of genetic screening tests in regional health policy