Hb New York, preliminary results concerning the hematologic characteristics and the effects on thalassemia.

BACKGROUND

The hematological phenotype and genotype analysis of hemoglobin New York (Hb New York) combined with α or β thalassemia has been rarely reported, and whether there is any effect of Hb New York on thalassemia has not been well explored.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this study, peripheral blood samples from 346 Hb New York carriers were collected for blood cell parameter analysis. When comparing Hb New York heterozygotes, Hb New York combined with α thalassemia or α thalassemia, we found that the differences in hemoglobin (HGB), MCV and MCH values were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The HGB, MCV and MCH values of α thalassemia patients were not different from Hb New York combined with α thalassemia group (P > 0.05). When Hb New York heterozygotes were compared to Hb New York combined with β thalassemia or β thalassemia, the differences in MCV and MCH values were statistically significant (P < 0.05). However, the differences in MCV and MCH values were not statistically significant between Hb New York combined with β thalassemia and β thalassemia (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that the hematological characteristics of Hb New York combined with thalassemia are similar to the corresponding thalassemia, and Hb New York does not aggravate the clinical manifestations of thalassemia.