Muhammad Arif Sadiq, Ahmad Muqeem, Asma Bilal, Rizwan Hashim.
Frequency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency among the asymptomatic healthy individuals.
Pak J Pathol Jan ;29(1):1-3.

Objective:  To determine the frequency of G6PD deficiency among the asymptomatic healthy individuals.   Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of study: This study was done at Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Hospital Islamabad and PAF Hospital Lahore from July 2015 to March 2017. Patients and Methods: The candidates tested were of both genders that came from all provinces of Pakistan for Central Medical Board selection in PAF or admission in PAF Public Colleges, Sargodha and Lower Topa. Their minimum age was 11 year and maximum 28 year. Their screening test for G6PD deficiency was carried out on Tuber by Merux Pty Ltd Australia. It is a qualitative, colorimetric procedure using dichlorophenol indophenols as an indicator for determining G6PD deficiency.                                                                                               Results: A sum of 1289 subjects was enrolled in the study. Out of them 1150 (89.2%) were male and 139 (10.8%) were females. Among 1150 males, 21 (1.82%) were found deficient for G6PD whereas only 1 (0.7%) female was G6PD deficient.  A frequency of 1.7% was found in all subjects. All the candidates had normal blood counts except for 33 females who were anaemic with hemoglobin levels < 12.0 g/dl. Conclusion:  In this study a frequency of 1.7% was found in all subjects. G6PD deficiency can present in apparently healthy individuals and remain undiagnosed even in third decade of life.  G6PD screening can be included in normal health screening profile at least once in lifetime. Keywords: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, G6PD, NADPH, Haemolysis.

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