The beta form of<unk> assemia is particularly prevalent among the Mediterranean peoples and this geographical association is responsible for its naming:<unk> assa (θάλασσα) is the Greek word for sea and haima (αἷμα) is the Greek word for blood. In Europe, the highest concentrations of the disease are found in Greece and the Turkish coastal regions. The major Mediterranean islands (except the Balearics) such as Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus, Malta and Crete are heavily affected in particular. Other Mediterranean peoples, as well as those in the vicinity of the Mediterranean, also have high incidence rates, including people from West Asia and North Africa. The data indicate that 15% of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots are carriers of<unk> assaemia genes, while 10% of the population carry alpha-thalassaemia genes. Evolutionary adaptation The<unk> assemia trait may confer a degree of protection against malaria, which is or was prevalent in the regions where the trait is common, thus conferring a selective survival advantage on carriers (known as heterozygous advantage), thus perpetuating the mutation. In that respect, the various<unk> assemias resemble another genetic disorder affecting hemoglobin, sickle-cell disease. Incidence The disorder is more prevalent in certain ethnicities and age groups.<unk>  is most prevalent in the<unk> assemia belt" which includes areas in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean extending into the Middle East and Southeast Asia. This geographical distribution is thought to be due to<unk>  carrier state<unk>  minor) conferring a resistance to malaria. In the United States,<unk> assemia's prevalence is approximately 1 in 272,000 or 1,000 people. There have been 4,000 hospitalized cases in England in 2002 and 9,233 consultant episodes for<unk> assemia. Men accounted for 53% of hospital consultant episodes and women accounted for 47%. The mean patient age is 23 with only 1% of consultants the patient is older than 75 and 69% were 15-59 year olds. It is estimated that 1.5% of the world's population are carriers and 40,000 affected infants are born with the disease annually.<unk>  major is usually fatal in infancy if blood transfusions are not initiated immediately.
Beta thalassemia
Thalassemia
Delta-beta thalassemia
Alpha-thalassemia
Sickle cell-beta thalassemia
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
Diamond–Blackfan anemia
Hereditary spherocytosis