Study to Assess Prevalence of Hemoglobinopathies by HPLC among Class IX and X Students of a Rural Block, Darjeeling District, West Bengal

Background: Hemoglobinopathies are commonest hereditary disorders in India. Hemoglobin E (HbE), in double heterozygous states with beta thalassemia trait may cause thalassemia, a fatal yet preventable disease. Its proven association with Rajbanshis, major ethnic group of this terrain has been well documented. Universally accepted preventive interventional strategies like screening tests for case and carrier detection remains the mainstay. Objectives: To determine prevalence of hemoglobinopathies among school going adolescents and find out their association with any defined ethnicity in the study area. Anemia was estimated. Methods: Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from November 2015 to August 2016 in collaboration with Thalassemia Control Unit (TCU), North Bengal Medical College. It was intended to include all students of class IX and X in the government run co-education secondary schools based on their current enrolment status, pertaining to study criteria. 1792 eligible subjects were studied. After ethical clearance and briefing, data was collected from screening camps organized in schools on prefixed dates, using appropriate tools and techniques and analyzed. Results: Prevalence of hemoglobinopathies was 44.5%, major variants being HbE (22.6%), beta thalassemia trait (9.8%) and E-beta thalassemia (7.3%). Significant association was found between HbE hemoglobinopathies and Rajbanshis (p=.00). 45.2% study subjects were anemic. Conclusion: Hemoglobinopathies were substantially high in study area with HbE as commonest variant. Rajbanshis, a majority among study subjects were significantly associated with HbE hemoglobinopathies. Prevalence of anemia was alarmingly high. Planning preventive interventional strategies would ensure appropriate health behaviour of cases and carriers.