Does cigarette smoking affect the diagnostic reliability of hemoglobin α2δ2 (HbA2)?
✍ Scribed by Issa S. Tarazi; Mahmoud M. Sirdah; Hesham El Jeadi; Rami M. Al Haddad
- Book ID
- 102310630
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2008
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 109 KB
- Volume
- 22
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0887-8013
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Quantitation of hemoglobin α2δ2 (HbA~2~) is a basic and confirmatory test in diagnosing the carrier state of β‐thalassemia. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of cigarette smoking on the diagnostic reliability of HbA~2~. A total of 2,867 (654 smokers and 2,213 never smokers) male subjects were involved in the present study. The subjects were categorized into three groups according to their laboratory findings: β‐thalassemia minor, iron deficient, and normal groups. Complete blood count (CBC) parameters and HbA~2~ levels were compared between smokers and never smokers of each group according to the independent‐samples t‐test using the SPSS^®^ program, significance results were reported at P<0.05. The results showed a significant increase in red blood cell (RBC) mass (RBC count and hematocrit [Hct]) and Hb concentration in smokers of all groups; however, no significant differences were reported in the HbA~2~ level between smokers and never smokers in all groups. It was concluded that cigarette smoking does not affect the diagnostic reliability of the HbA~2~ test. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 22:119–122, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.