The incidence of various haemoglobinopathies has been recorded for one laboratory for the period 1961 to 1979.
Over this period, the heterozygous conditions, particularly the thalassaemic group of disorders, have been found with an increasing frequency, though the more serious homozygous forms have not shown the same trend.
Improved diagnostic methods and a raised index of suspicion to a potential haemoglobinopathy contribute to this increase, but the major factor is probably the rise in the immigrant population.
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