Bowden D K, Hill A V, Higgs D R, Weatherall D J, Clegg J B
Lancet. 1985 Nov 9;2(8463):1025-8. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(85)90903-1.
Hypochromic anaemia is very common among the island populations of Vanuatu in the South-West Pacific. Results of a large-scale survey show that, unexpectedly, this form of anaemia is seldom due to iron deficiency or coexistent parasitic disease. Rather, it results from a previously unsuspected high incidence of alpha-thalassaemia which has been identified only by application of DNA analysis to the populations studied. These findings suggest that hypochromic anaemia in tropical or subtropical populations should not necessarily be attributed to iron deficiency; detailed studies of iron status should be carried out before major dietary changes or fortification of food with iron are implemented.
低色素性贫血在西南太平洋瓦努阿图的岛屿人群中非常普遍。一项大规模调查结果显示，出乎意料的是，这种贫血形式很少是由缺铁或并存的寄生虫病引起的。相反，它是由先前未被怀疑的α地中海贫血高发病率导致的，这种贫血仅通过对所研究人群进行DNA分析才得以确定。这些发现表明，热带或亚热带人群中的低色素性贫血不一定应归因于缺铁；在实施重大饮食改变或对食物进行铁强化之前，应先对铁状况进行详细研究。
