INTRODUCTION: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in Latin America has not been fully studied and in Colombia only three outdated publications are known. Recent information on the prevalence of G6PD deficiency is required now, because the recommended treatment of vivax malaria requires higher daily or total doses of primaquine. OBJECTIVE: To measure the prevalence of G6PD in a healthy male population and in a Plasmodium vivax infected population in Turbo (Urabá, Antioquia Department, Colombia). METHOD: Prevalence survey to evaluate G6PD in two populations of Turbo (Antioquia): healthy male; male and female with vivax malaria. The work was carried out on population samples selected using statistical and epidemiological criteria. Enzyme activity was measured using Beutler's normalized method to evaluate G6PD after hemolysis. RESULTS: For the healthy male group (n = 508), and with a 95% confidence interval (IC95%), the mean values were between 4.15 and 4.51 IU/g hemoglobin; 14.8% exhibited values below "normal", i.e. < 2.29 IU/g hemoglobin (G6PD prevalence). Among malaria-infected men (n = 206) IC95% ranged from 3.81 to 4.16, and among malaria infected women, it ranged from 3.86 to 4.20 IU/g of hemoglobin. The mean values observed in males (healthy vs. infected) were statistically different (p = 0.028). Only 9.5% (13/137) of the infected individuals, had G6PD deficiency and this occurred only within the male group. CONCLUSIONS: G6PD is relatively high among healthy people (14.8%) and in the P. vivax infected (9.5%) male population of Turbo.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; Malaria; Plasmodium; Ethnic group; Sex; Primaquine; Colombia
