FREQUENCY OF BETA THALASSEMIA TRAIT IN ANEMIC PREGNANT WOMEN OF A TERTIARY CARE SETUP OF PAKISTAN

Introduction: The most common causes of hypochromia and microcytosis include iron deficiency anemia followed by beta thalassemia trait. Objectives of the study: The main objective of the study is to find the frequency of beta thalassemia trait in anemic pregnant women of a tertiary care setup of Pakistan. Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad (PIMS) during January 2019 to December 2019. All pregnant women age 18-45 years and at any gestational age having Hb% level 7-10gm/dl were included in the study. Non pregnant patient and pregnant women with haemoglobin 10-11gm/dl were excluded. Results: The data was collected from 120 patients. The age of the women included ranges from 18-45 years Table 1 show the presence of moderate anemia in relation with the age of pregnant female in which most of the patients 75 (53%) belongs to 18-30 years of age group. Conclusion: It is concluded that Iron deficiency is the leading factor for anemia found in this study, but thalassemia trait also a significant contributing factor.