Association between Alpha-Thalassemia Carrier Prevalence and Incidence of COVID-19

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The association between COVID-19 incidence and genetic underlying is an interesting issue. The possible association between thalassemia and COVID-19 is proposed. In additional to beta-thalassemia, alpha-thalassemia is another important group of thalassemic disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this report, the authors present an observation on correlation between alpha-thalassemia 1carrier prevalence and incidence of COVID-19 from a tropical country in Southeast Asia that alpha-thalassemia is endemic. RESULTS: According to this study, there is no significant correlation and the calculated correlation coefficient between alpha-thalassemia carrier prevalence and incidence of COVID-19 is equal to − 0.82 (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to the current data, there is no discernible link between the incidence of COVID-19 and the prevalence of alpha-thalassemia 1 carriers.