Prevalence of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency among the Ogoni and Etche Ethnic Groups in Rivers State, Nigeria

Aims: This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD) among Ogoni and Etche ethnic groups in Rivers State, Nigeria,

Study Design: A total of 200 randomly selected subjects comprising of 100 Ogonis (49 males and 51 females) and 100 Etches (62 males and 38 females) participated in this study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted among members of Ogoni and Etche ethnic groups. Analysis was carried out at the Haematology Laboratory, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, between May and August, 2018.

Methodology: Three milliliters of ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulated blood was collected from each subject, The G6PD status of the subjects were determined by spectrophotometric method using semi-automated analyzer.

Results: The result obtained showed that the prevalence of G6PD deficiency in Ogoni was 9% while that of Etche was 13%. There was no significant difference (P=0.19) in the level of deficiency in both the Ogoni and Etche subjects with the value of 6.21±4.34 and 5.92±0.54 respectively.

Conclusion: G6PD is more common among Etches than the Ogonis, although with no significant difference. Therefore, G6PD screening test should be included in routine test before treatment with antimalarial drugs like quinine and premaquinine or other drugs that can predispose G6PD deficient individuals to haemolytic episode.