Fava Bean Ingestion: the Most Important Risk Factor of Hemolysis in G6PD Deficiency in Iran

Abstract, Iranian Journal of Blood & Cancer, 2016

G6PD deficiency affects more than 400 million people worldwide. It is highly prevalent in Africa, Asia, and especially in Mediterranean countries. Iran is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of G6PD deficiency according to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports. The prevalence of the disease is reported to be 6.7% in Iran. It seems although neonatal G6PD screening is being practiced in Iran since 2010, the level of education and knowledge of physicians and parents about the nature of the disease and predisposing factors for hemolysis is still essential. Gene frequency for the disease is different from 2.1% in Lebanon to 3.6% in Thailand, 5.1% in Indonesia, and 15.3% in Nigeria.