Prevalence of Alpha and Beta-Thalassemia Mutations Among Carriers of Thalassemia in Shadegan City, Southwest of Iran.

Background: We aimed to investigate the alpha and beta-thalassemia mutations and assess the association of hematologic indices with mutations. Patients and Methods: In this cross sectional study, we assessed 275 suspected thalassemia carriers. Amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction and Gap PCRwere used for detection of mutations. Results: CD 36 - 37 (-T) and -α3.7/αα were most common mutations. Mean of corpuscular hemoglobin and corpuscular volume was less among beta-thalassemia carriers in comparison to alpha-thalassemia carriers (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Detected mutations were different from other regions in Iran. After iron therapy, mean of corpuscular volume (MCV) was < 69 fL and mean of corpuscular hemoglobin was < 23 pg, maybe classified as beta-thalassemia carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]