High prevalence of G6PD deficiency in Vataliya Prajapati community in western India.
OBJECTIVE: Sporadic cases of drug-induced haemolytic anaemia due to glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in patients belonging to Vataliya Prajapati community prompted us to study the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in the community. METHODS: Screening for G6PD deficiency was carried out using the dichlorophenol-indophenol (DPIP) dye decolorization method. RESULTS: A total of 471 individuals were screened. Of these, 385 unrelated individuals were considered to calculate the prevalence of G6PD deficiency. Among 272 unrelated males, 76 persons (27.94%) and among 113 unrelated females, 11 individuals (9.73%) were found to be G6PD deficient. A quantitative assay on 41 of the G6PD deficient samples showed the enzyme activity ranged from 0-0.5 unit/ml RBC/min. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of G6PD deficiency in Vataliya Prajapatis community was found to be the highest ever reported in the Indian caste-groups population studied so far.