High incidence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Croatian island isolate: example from Vis island, Croatia.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in the population of the town of Komiza on the island of Vis, which has previously been reported as a place with several cases of favism.

Methods: We screened 302 randomly selected men, using the fluorescent spot test. Fluorescence readings were performed at the beginning and 5, 10, and 20 minutes after incubation, and were classified into three groups: bright fluorescence, weak fluorescence, and no fluorescence. All men found to be G6PD deficient were tested with a quantitative spectrophotometric UV method.

Results: Of the 302 tested blood samples, 36 (11.9%) samples showed weak fluorescence or no fluorescence spots. Spectrophotometric UV test showed that 18 (5.96%) men were G6PD deficient. The prevalence of G6PD deficiency in the population of Komiza is significantly higher (P<0.001) than the prevalence in the whole population of Dalmatia in the south of Croatia (0.75% in men).

Conclusion: On the basis of these findings, we recommend including the newborns from the island of Vis into a screening program for G6PD deficiency. Our results indicate that G6PD deficiency should be determined for all the island isolates in the Mediterranean basin and they warrant further studies.