Race as Determinant of Red Blood Cell Osmotic Stress Haemolysis in South Indian and African Populations

Abstract

The study was to compare the red blood cell osmotic fragility between South Indian and African ethnicities. A cross sectional study was performed in the Department of Physiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. The study involved apparently healthy young adults between 18 to 40 years old. The whole study's total sample size was 50 healthy individuals, 25 South Indians (13 female and 12 male) and 25 Africans (13 female and 12 male).  The results showed an increase in the percentage haemolysis that was statistically significant (p=0.0001) in South Indians (32.16 ±5.048%) compared to Africans (20.01 ± 3.151%), respectively. The present study has identified and quantified race's impact as one of the determinant factors of red blood cell osmotic stress haemolysis. Therefore, we conclude that the percentage of haemolysis is higher for the South Indian population than the African population.