GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE-DEHYDROGENASE DEFICIENCY AND THE SICKLE-CELL GENEIN MAKKAH, SAUDI-ARABIA

This study was conducted on 689 Saudi males and females living in the Makkah area in the western province of Saudi Arabia. The frequency of severe glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency in the ma le and female populations was 0.055 and 0.042 respectively. The normal G-6-PD was G-6-PD-B+ and the G-6-PD phenotypes identified included G- B-PD-A(+), G-6-PD-A(-), G-6-PD-Mediterranean, and G-6-PD-Mediterranean -like at gene frequencies of 0.0288, 0.0026, 0.05497, and 0.1969 in th e male population and 0.026, 0.0146, 0.0407, and 0.02606 in the female population. The main variants producing severe and mild G-6-PD defici ency were G-6-PD-Mediterranean and G-6-PD-Mediterranean-like, respecti vely. The sickle cell gene was identified at a frequency of 0.029 and no interaction between sickle cell and G-6-PD deficiency genes was enc ountered.