RESUMEN
Despite several existing laboratory-based studies of hemoglobin (Hb) E (HBB:c.79 G > A)/ ß (nucleotide (NT) -28 A > G) (HBB:c.-78 A > G) -thalassemia, no reports have ever provided clinical severity information as well as dependency of blood transfusion. Previously, a comparative study of community- and hospital-recruited Hb E/ß-thalassemia subjects was conducted in the lower northern Thailand between June 2020 and December 2021. A mobile medical team visited each community hospital on-site, collecting clinical severity parameters, and conducting Hb and DNA analyses. The control included Hb E/ß-thalassemia patients undergoing transfusions. Subgroup study of adult Hb E/ß (NT -28 A > G) -thalassemia subjects was subsequently conducted. Additional pediatric individuals were recruited from prenatal diagnosis databases. Twenty adult and nine pediatric subjects were enrolled; all were classified as having mild disease severity. Twenty-two individuals (75.9 %) were asymptomatic. Six adults (20.7 %) required blood transfusion. The mean Hb level of subjects without transfusion (23 [79.3 %]) was 10.77 ± 1.10 g/dL. Hb analysis revealed a distinct EFA pattern with low Hb F fraction. The positive impact of genetic modifiers could not be statistically demonstrated except rs7482144-XmnI. These findings could provide essential information for parents carrying fetuses with Hb E/ß (NT -28 A > G) -thalassemia.