Rouh AlDeen Najat, Osman Asmaa A, Alhabashi Monira J, Al Khaldi Rasha, Alawadi Hassan, Alromh Maha K, Alyafai Eiman G, Akbulut-Jeradi Nagihan
Hematology Department, Maternity Hospital, P.O. Box 4078, Sabah 13001, Kuwait.
ATC Learn Center, Advanced Technology Company, P.O. Box 44558, Hawalli 32060, Kuwait.
J Pers Med. 2021 Sep 29;11(10):980. doi: 10.3390/jpm11100980.
This study aims to estimate the prevalence rates of β-thalassemia and Sickle cell disorders in the adult population screened ( = 275,819) as part of the Kuwaiti National Premarital Screening Program. All the individuals who applied for a marriage license during the years 2009 and 2020 were covered by the program. A network of four reception centers in the Ministry of Health facilities and one Premarital Diagnostic Laboratory (PDL) in Maternity Hospital were involved in performing all investigations for hemoglobinopathies. The total number of individuals identified with β-thal trait was 5861 (2.12%), while 22 individuals (0.008%) were diagnosed with β-thal disease. A total of 5003 subjects (1.81%) were carrying the Sickle cell trait, while 172 subjects (0.062%) had Sickle cell disease including Sickle cell anemia (SCA). Results showed that the program succeeded indeed in preventing the marriage of 50.4% of risky couples by issuing unsafe marriage certificates. Yet more efforts are needed to improve the program's main objective of decreasing high-risk marriages. In particular, health care systems should be ameliorated in a way to intensify the counselling mechanism for the high-risk couples, strengthen the awareness of the general population and induce earlier age screening policies.
本研究旨在估算作为科威特国家婚前筛查项目一部分接受筛查的成年人群（ = 275,819）中β地中海贫血和镰状细胞疾病的患病率。2009年至2020年期间申请结婚证的所有个人均涵盖在该项目范围内。卫生部设施中的四个接待中心网络以及妇产医院的一个婚前诊断实验室（PDL）参与了所有血红蛋白病的调查。被鉴定为β地中海贫血特征的个体总数为5861人（2.12%），而22人（0.008%）被诊断为β地中海贫血病。共有5003名受试者（1.81%）携带镰状细胞特征，而172名受试者（0.062%）患有镰状细胞疾病，包括镰状细胞贫血（SCA）。结果表明，该项目通过发放不安全婚姻证书，确实成功阻止了50.4%的高危夫妇结婚。然而，需要做出更多努力来实现该项目减少高危婚姻的主要目标。特别是，医疗保健系统应以加强对高危夫妇的咨询机制、增强普通人群的意识并推行更早年龄筛查政策的方式加以改善。
