Association between sickle cell anemia and alpha thalassemia reveals a high prevalence of the α^3.7 triplication in congolese patients than in worldwide series

Abstract

The prevalence of α^3.7 triplication was higher in sickle cell patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo than in worldwide series. The α^3.7 triplication and α^3.7 homozygous deletion were associated with less severe forms of the Sickle cell anemia in Congolese patients. These results showed the need to investigate systematically the alpha-globin gene mutations in sickle cell population in Central Africa.