Minor hemoglobins other than A2 in iron deficiency

Abstract

Objective: To determine any difference in levels of minor hemoglobins, other than hemoglobin A2 (HbA2), in patients with iron deficiency. Methods: We divided ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-anticoagulated blood specimens from 188 patients into 2 groups, of which 94 displayed a normal or high ferritin level and the remaining 94 had a low ferritin level. We correlated the red cell indices, hemoglobin levels, and ferritin levels with the percentage of various minor hemoglobins. The Student's t-test was used to assess the statistical significance of the difference between the mean concentrations of minor hemoglobins in the 2 groups. Results: Only hemoglobin HbA1a had a positive correlation (0.33 in iron-deficient and 0.35 in iron-replete specimens) with serum ferritin concentration. Among the minor hemoglobins, HbA1a (P =.008) and HbA2 (P