Assessing Hemoglobinopathy Occurrence via High-Performance Liquid Chromatography in a Tertiary Care Setting

Background: Hemoglobinopathies are among the most common inherited disorders worldwide, with a significant burden in India. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has become the gold standard for detecting and classifying these disorders, offering precise quantification and identification of hemoglobin variants. Aim: To estimate the prevalence and distribution of various hemoglobinopathies detected by HPLC in a tertiary care center in India. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study included 310 patients screened for the duration of one year. Patients of all age groups and both sexes, referred for hemoglobinopathy screening were enrolled. Detailed clinical data were collected and venous blood samples were analyzed using HPLC. Demographic details,age-wise distribution, and prevalence of hemoglobinopathies were recorded. Results: Of the 310 patients, 125 (40.3%) were male and 185 (59.7%) were female. The majority of patients belonged to the 21–30 years age group (33.9%). HPLC analysis showed 235 (75.8%) had normal hemoglobin while 38 (12.3%) had β-thalassemia trait, 12 (3.9%) had sickle cell trait, 4 (1.3%) had sickle cell-β-thalassemia compound heterozygosity, and 2 (0.6%) had sickle cell homozygosity. Thalassemia trait was most commonly diagnosed in the 21–30 years group. Among thalassemia carriers, RDW was predominantly in the 16–20 range. Conclusion: This study highlights the considerable burden of hemoglobinopathies, particularly β-thalassemia trait in the regional population. HPLC proved highly effective for screening and diagnosis. Strengthening screening programs, especially among young adults along with public awareness initiatives are essential to reduce the hemoglobinopathy burden in India.