β‐Globin gene cluster haplotypes and α‐thalassemia in sickle cell disease patients from Trinidad

In this study, we have determined the frequency of β^S haplotypes in 163 sickle cell disease patients from Trinidad. The α^3.7 globin gene deletion status was also studied with an observed gene frequency of 0.17. Among the 283 β^S chromosomes analyzed, the Benin haplotype was the most prevalent (61.8%) followed by Bantu (17.3%), Senegal (8.5%), Cameroon (3.5%), and Arab‐Indian (3.2%), while 5.7% of them were atypical. This β^S haplotypes distribution differed from those previously described in other Caribbean islands (Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Cuba), in agreement with the known involvement of the major colonial powers (Spain, France, and Great Britain) in the slave trade in Trinidad and documented an Indian origin of the β^S gene. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.