Ethnicity study and non-selective screening for haemoglobinopathies in the antenatal population of central Manchester

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of ethnic groups within the antenatal population in central Manchester and thereby ensure that the haemoglobinopathy service was targeting the correct population and their needs. Ethnic data collection records of 6718 patients were analysed over a 7 month period. Of these 62.3% stated that they were White, 13.2% Asian, 7.9% Black, 3.8% Chinese or 'other ethnic groups' and 12.7% gave no information about their ethnic background. A subset of 1144 patients were screened for haemoglobinopathies over a 1 month period. The incidence of haemoglobinopathies within the screened population was 2.62%, and comprised 0.69% beta thalassaemia trait, 1.22% sickle cell trait, 0.43% haemoglobin C trait and 0.26% haemoglobin D trait. The total incidence of haemoglobinopathies was highest within the Black population (18.2%), followed by the no information group (5.6%), Asian (3.35%) and white (0.26%). The high proportion of ethnic minorities and the significant carrier frequency in the no information group, support our view that non-selective screening should be offered to the antenatal population of central Manchester.