Thalassemia minor is a genetic blood condition. Patients with thalassemia minor are sometimes said to have “thalassemia trait,” and they are often non-symptomatic. Although someone with this condition may not experience adverse symptoms, the trait can be passed on to a child, and if the other parent also carries the trait, the child could develop thalassemia minor by inheriting a bad gene from one parent, or a more severe form of the disease by inheriting the gene from both parents.
The term “thalassemia” actually describes a family of inherited blood conditions seen primarily among people of Mediterranean and Asian descent. Patients with this conditions have defects in the genes which contribute to the production of hemoglobin, causing the patient to develop anemia. There are a number of different types of thalassemia, and two forms of thalassemia minor. More severe forms can lead to problems such as severe anemia or stillbirth.
The most common subgroup of thalassemias is thalassemia beta. People with thalassemia beta minor have inherited one copy of the defective gene. Since the condition is recessive, they need two copies of the gene for the condition to appear. Some people with this trait experience mild anemia and may need to watch their diets, but most are perfectly healthy and require no special treatment. In fact, many patients are unaware that they carry the gene, unless they happen to be tested for it.
Thalassemia alpha, another subgroup within this family of conditions, also has a minor form. Thalassemia alpha trait or thalassemia alpha minor involves inheriting some, but not all, of the defective genes. There are four separate alleles involved in the expression of thalassemia alpha. Someone who inherits one or two has thalassemia alpha minor. She or he will be a carrier for the condition, but should not experience symptoms beyond minor anemia and fatigue, if any symptoms are experienced at all.
Because thalassemia is such a common condition in the Mediterranean, prospective parents of Mediterranean descent are often encouraged to get genetic testing to determine whether or not they are carriers of thalassemia. This testing is important, because someone can have thalassemia minor and be unaware of it, which means she or he could pass the gene on to a child. Testing may be required before a marriage license will be issued in some regions, much as AIDS testing is required to get married in some regions of the world.