i-THALASSEMIA'S SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY: A POSSIBLE PREVENTION/TREATMENT PROGRAM TO ROUT "LEGACY" GENETIC MUTATIONS


Akay A., Dragomir A., YARDIMCI A., CANATAN D., YESILIPEK A., Pogue B.

8th International Workshop on Mathematical Methods in Scattering Theory and Biomedical Engineering, Lefkada, Greece, 27 - 29 September 2007, pp.199-200 identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • Doi Number: 10.1142/9789812814852_0022
  • City: Lefkada
  • Country: Greece
  • Page Numbers: pp.199-200
  • Akdeniz University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

beta-Thalassemia is an anemic genetic disorder that continues to affect between 3-10% of populations residing every country in the Mediterranean, Maghreb, Southwest, South, and Southeast Asia. While many studies surrounding beta-thalassemia concentrated either on genetic or social applications, we applied a joint method to explain beta-Thalassemia's spread rate. The data generated from interviews and questionnaires were converted into numerical values to ascertain what variables contribute to beta-thalassemia's spread rate. We hypothesized that a strong correlation among certain variables (limited education, information availability, and neighborhood prevention programs, financial insolvency, and treatment affordability) exists. Using a self-organizing map (SOM) in the analysis (due to large data content) allowed us to group the data into five regions corresponding to dominant variables responsible for beta-thalassemia's spread. After studying the mapped data and relevant variables, we concluded that education correlated to beta-thalassemia's spread rate. Education affected other variables that contributed to beta-thalassemia's spread. We concluded that a combined aggressive education/prevention and treatment programs can prevent beta-thalassemia's spread.