Thursday, December 27, 2018

Blood counts in Afro-American population

Q: Hemoglobin level in African-American (AA) population is usually _______ than the hemoglobin values in comparable Caucasian populations? (select one)

A) Higher
B) Lower


Answer: B

African-American population in USA irrespective of gender tends run lower hemoglobin value than in comparable Caucasian populations by 0.5 to 1 g/dL. This may be possibly due to the high prevalence of hematologic diseases in AA population such as sickle cell disease, iron deficiency anemia and/or alpha thalassemia.


#hematology



References: 

1.  Reed WW, Diehl LF. Leukopenia, neutropenia, and reduced hemoglobin levels in healthy American blacks. Arch Intern Med 1991; 151:501. 

2.  Beutler E, West C. Hematologic differences between African-Americans and whites: the roles of iron deficiency and alpha-thalassemia on hemoglobin levels and mean corpuscular volume. Blood 2005; 106:740.

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