G6PD deficiency is an inherited condition in which the body doesn't have enough of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, or G6PD, which helps red blood cells (RBCs) function normally. This deficiency can cause hemolytic anemia, usually after exposure to certain medications, foods, or even infections.
Most people with G6PD deficiency don't have any symptoms, while others develop symptoms of anemia only after RBCs have been destroyed, a condition called hemolysis. In these cases, the symptoms disappear once the cause, or trigger, is removed. In rare cases, G6PD deficiency leads to chronic anemia.
With the right precautions, a child with G6PD deficiency can lead a healthy and active life.
About G6PD Deficiency
G6PD is one of many enzymes that help the body process carbohydrates and turn them into energy. G6PD also protects red blood cells from potentially harmful byproducts that can accumulate when a person takes certain medications or when the body is fighting an infection.
In people with G6PD deficiency, either the RBCs do not make enough G6PD or what is produced cannot properly function. Without enough G6PD to protect them, RBCs can be damaged or destroyed. Hemolytic anemia occurs when the bone marrow (the soft, spongy part of the bone that produces new blood cells) cannot compensate for this destruction by increasing its production of RBCs.
Causes of G6PD Deficiency
G6PD deficiency is passed along in genes from one or both parents to a child. The gene responsible for this deficiency is on the X chromosome.
G6PD deficiency is most common in males of African heritage. Many females of African heritage are carriers of G6PD deficiency, meaning they can pass the gene for the deficiency to their children but do not have symptoms; only a few are actually affected by G6PD deficiency.
People of Mediterranean heritage, including those of Italian, Greek, Arabic, and Sephardic Jewish backgrounds, also are commonly affected. The severity of G6PD deficiency varies among these groups — it tends to be milder in those of African heritage and more severe in people of Mediterranean descent.
Why does G6PD deficiency happen more often in certain groups of people? It is known that Africa and the Mediterranean basin are high-risk areas for the infectious disease malaria. Researchers have found evidence that the parasite that causes this disease does not survive well in G6PD-deficient cells. So they believe that the deficiency may have developed as a protection against malaria