Negative Balancing Factors for the Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Polymorphism in Thailand

Abstract

The fertility of G-6-PD deficient women was found not significantly different from that of women with normal G-6-PD. The risk of developing severe hyperbilirubinemia is approximately 5% for hemizygous and homozygous newborns, 2% for heterozygous newborns under the conditions present in Thailand. A high incidence of G-6-PD deficiency was found in a group of patients with cerebral palsy due to bilirubin encephalopathy. Of 38 cases of acute hemolytic anemia, 35 were presumably caused by agents known to induce hemolysis in G-6-PD deficient individuals. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia with bilirubin encephalopathy seems to be the main negative balancing factor for the G-6-PD polymorphism in Thailand.