Sains Ma1aysiana 27: 31-37 (1998)                                                                                                               Sains Hayat/

                                                                                                                                                                                Life Sciences

Haemoglobin Level and Iron Status of Orang Asli

in a Malaria Endemic Area

Halimah Abdullah Sani, Zarinah Mohd Ghani,

Hasidah Mohd Sudek, Rohani Abdul Kadir

Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor D.E.

Noor Hayati Mohd Isa, Norhayati Mokhtar & Sulaiman Osman

Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Jalan Raja Muda, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Orang Asli (21 females, and 23 males, aged 16 - 53 years) at Pos Piah Sungai Siput, Perak have average haemoglobin levels at the lower end of the normal range (12.2 ± 1.1 g/100 ml in females and 13.9 ± 1.7 g/100 ml in males). To determine whether these values are due to a deficiency in iron, levels of iron in plasma and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were measured. The average plasma iron levels were in the normal range, 113.8 ± 35.1 g/100 ml in females and 145.5 ± 54.2 μg/100 ml in males. The TIBC levels were also normal, (244.2 ± 76.5 g/100 ml in females and 284.6 ± 47.4 μg/100 ml in males) indicating that a deficiency in iron did not occur. Thus the low levels of haemoglobin in these subjects could be due to genetic factors such as haemoglobinopathy. Further investigations are being carried out to study the incidence of haemoglobinopathy in this malaria endemic area.

ABSTRAK

Orang Asli (21 wanita, 23 lelaki yang berumur 16 - 53 tahun) di Pos Piah Sungai Siput, Perak mempunyai aras hemoglobin pada nilai paling rendah dalam julat normal iaitu (12.2 ± 1.1 g/100 ml pada wanita dan 13.9 ± 1.7 g/100 ml pada lelaki). Untuk mengetahui sama ada nilai yang rendah ini disebabkan oleh kekurangan zat besi, aras besi plasma dan muatan pengikatan besi (TIBC) ditentukan. Didapati purata aras besi plasma berada dalam julat normal iaitu 113.8 ± 35.1 g/100 ml pada wan ita dan 145.5 ± 54.2 μg/100 ml pada lelaki. Purata aras TIBC subjek juga normal iaitu (244.2 ± 76.5 g/100 ml pada wanita dan 284.6 ± 47.4 μg/100 ml pada lelaki). Ini menunjukkan bahawa mereka tidak mengalami kekurangan zat besi. Aras hemoglobin yang rendah boleh juga berlaku akibat faktor genetik seperti hemoglobinopati. Kajian sedang dilakukan untuk mengkaji kehadiran hemoglobinopati di kalangan Orang Asli di kawasan endemik malaria ini.

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