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Increased Prevalence of Thalassemia in Young People in Korea: Impact of Increasing Immigration.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Thalassemia is highly prevalent in Southeast Asia but is rare in Korea; however, Southeast Asian immigrant population is recently rising in Korea. We investigated the prevalence of thalassemia in Korea in the context of increasing immigration. METHODS:This prospective, observational, multicenter study was conducted between September 2015 and August 2017. A total of 669 subjects <30 years living in Korea were grouped into the multiethnic (N=314) and Korean (N=355) groups. Hb electrophoresis and complete blood count (CBC) were performed. If low mean corpuscular volume with high red blood cell distribution width coefficient of variation or a high fetal Hb (HbF) or Hb alpha 2 (HbA?) level was observed, genetic testing of the ?- and ?-globin genes was performed. In addition, the number of potential thalassemia carriers in Korea was estimated by multiplying the prevalence of thalassemia in a specific ethnicity by the number of immigrants of that ethnicity. RESULTS:Twenty-six multiethnic and 10 Korean subjects showed abnormal results for Hb electrophoresis and CBC. Eighteen multiethnic subjects and four Korean subjects were tested for ?-globin and ?-globin gene mutations. Within the multiethnic group, five subjects (1.5%) were ?-thalassemia carriers, and six (1.9%) were ?-thalassemia minor. The SEA deletion in HBA1 and HBA2, and c. 126_129delCTTT (p.Phe42Leufs*19) mutation of HBB were the dominant inherited mutations. CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of thalassemia in young people in Korea is increasing due to the increasing number of Southeast Asian immigrants.

SUBMITTER: Lee HJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6240526 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increased Prevalence of Thalassemia in Young People in Korea: Impact of Increasing Immigration.

Lee Hyun Ji HJ Shin Kyung Hwa KH Kim Hyung Hoi HH Yang Eu Jeen EJ Park Kyung Hee KH Kim Min Ju MJ Kwon Jeong Ran JR Choi Young Sil YS Kim Jun Nyun JN Shin Myung Geun MG Cho Yong Gon YG Kim Sun Jun SJ Kim Kyeong Hee KH Jeong Seri S Kong Seom Gim SG Jung Yu Jin YJ Lee Nayoung N Kim Man Jin MJ Seong Moon Woo MW

Annals of laboratory medicine 20190301 2

<h4>Background</h4>Thalassemia is highly prevalent in Southeast Asia but is rare in Korea; however, Southeast Asian immigrant population is recently rising in Korea. We investigated the prevalence of thalassemia in Korea in the context of increasing immigration.<h4>Methods</h4>This prospective, observational, multicenter study was conducted between September 2015 and August 2017. A total of 669 subjects <30 years living in Korea were grouped into the multiethnic (N=314) and Korean (N=355) groups ...[more]

PMID: 30430775

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Project description:PurposeTo investigate whether myopia is becoming more common across Europe and explore whether increasing education levels, an important environmental risk factor for myopia, might explain any temporal trend.DesignMeta-analysis of population-based, cross-sectional studies from the European Eye Epidemiology (E(3)) Consortium.ParticipantsThe E(3) Consortium is a collaborative network of epidemiological studies of common eye diseases in adults across Europe. Refractive data were available for 61 946 participants from 15 population-based studies performed between 1990 and 2013; participants had a range of median ages from 44 to 78 years.MethodsNoncycloplegic refraction, year of birth, and highest educational level achieved were obtained for all participants. Myopia was defined as a mean spherical equivalent ?-0.75 diopters. A random-effects meta-analysis of age-specific myopia prevalence was performed, with sequential analyses stratified by year of birth and highest level of educational attainment.Main outcome measuresVariation in age-specific myopia prevalence for differing years of birth and educational level.ResultsThere was a significant cohort effect for increasing myopia prevalence across more recent birth decades; age-standardized myopia prevalence increased from 17.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.6-18.1) to 23.5% (95% CI, 23.2-23.7) in those born between 1910 and 1939 compared with 1940 and 1979 (P = 0.03). Education was significantly associated with myopia; for those completing primary, secondary, and higher education, the age-standardized prevalences were 25.4% (CI, 25.0-25.8), 29.1% (CI, 28.8-29.5), and 36.6% (CI, 36.1-37.2), respectively. Although more recent birth cohorts were more educated, this did not fully explain the cohort effect. Compared with the reference risk of participants born in the 1920s with only primary education, higher education or being born in the 1960s doubled the myopia prevalence ratio-2.43 (CI, 1.26-4.17) and 2.62 (CI, 1.31-5.00), respectively-whereas individuals born in the 1960s and completing higher education had approximately 4 times the reference risk: a prevalence ratio of 3.76 (CI, 2.21-6.57).ConclusionsMyopia is becoming more common in Europe; although education levels have increased and are associated with myopia, higher education seems to be an additive rather than explanatory factor. Increasing levels of myopia carry significant clinical and economic implications, with more people at risk of the sight-threatening complications associated with high myopia.

Dataset Information

Increased Prevalence of Thalassemia in Young People in Korea: Impact of Increasing Immigration.

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Increased Prevalence of Thalassemia in Young People in Korea: Impact of Increasing Immigration.

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