Genetic diseases and associated risk factors in some Libyan districts: A cross sectional study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54361/ljmr.17-03Keywords:
Genetic Diseases, Genetic material, Mutations, Risk Factors, LibyaAbstract
Genetic disorders are caused by defects in the genetic material ranging from point mutations to chromosomal deletions. Manifesting of recessive defects requires the mutation inheritance from both parents, whereas dominant disorders require the mutation inheritance from one parent. This study aimed to investigate the rate of genetic disorders among Libyan participants with genetic disorders, to investigate their most causative risk factors and the level of awareness of these diseases. This cross sectional study was carried out through a questionnaire with a set of questions about genetic diseases distributed both on paper and electronically. 256 participants have generic disorders from different regions of Libya were involved. The participant's answers were collected from July 2021 to February 2022. The findings showed that the most prevalent genetic diseases were blood disorders 13.7%, CI=13.3-15.4), Down syndrome (13.3%, CI=9.5-17.4), autoimmune diseases (12.1%, CI=8.2-16.0), hereditary cancer (9.0%, CI=5.1-12.9) and congenital malformations (7.4%, CI= 4.1-10.9). The results showed that consanguineous marriage was a risk factor associated with the incidence of genetic diseases (P= 0.000, CI= 3.34-3.48) and there was a high rate of second-degree consanguineous marriage for the parents of participant patients (55.0%, n=141). Moreover, there was a family history of genetic disease (53.5%). The findings showed a lack of awareness of genetic diseases and their nature among the participants’ families. Data from this survey should be taken into account by the health authorities to outline a policy to prevent these genetic disorders in the country
Downloads
References
McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine (2017) Online
Mendelian Inheritance in Man Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine www.ncbinlmnih.gov/omim
Lvovs D, Favorova OO, Favorov AV. A Polygenic Approach to the Study of Polygenic Diseases. Acta Naturae. 2012;4(3):59-71.
Abarca Barriga HH, Trubnykova M, Castro Mujica Mdel. Management of Genetic Diseases: Present and Future. Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana. 2021;21(2):399-416. doi:10.25176/rfmh.v21i2.3626
Jackson M, Marks L, May GHW, Wilson JB. The genetic basis of disease [published correction appears in Essays Biochem. 2020 Oct 8;64(4):681]. Essays Biochem. 2018;62(5):643-723. Published 2018 Dec 2. doi:10.1042/EBC20170053
Cent. Arab Genom. Stud. 2017. CTGA at a glance. Centre for Arab Genomic Studies, updated Oct. 2017.
Gadra,A. The incidence of Down Syndrome in Benghazi. Sebha University Journal of Medical Sciences. 2005, Vol. 4(2).
Presson AP, Partyka G, Jensen KM, et al. Current estimate of down syndrome population prevalence in the United States. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2013;163(4):1163-1168. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.06.013
Verma IC, Mathews AR, Faquih A, El-Zouki AA, Malik GR, Mohammed F. Cytogenetic analysis of Down Syndrome in Libya. The Indian Journal of Pediatrics. 1990;57(2):245-248. doi:10.1007/bf02722095
Sheriff DS, El-Fakhri M, Ghwarsha K, Mutardi K, Baxi AJ. A profile of abnormal haemoglobin in eastern and southern Libya. Saudi Med. J. 1989; 10:138−140.
Elasbali A, Alalem A, Alshammari E, Khan S, Adnan M, Haque S. Prevalence of HBS gene in Marzouk region of southern Libya. Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences C, Physiology and Molecular Biology. 2015;7(1):27-37. doi:10.21608/eajbsc.2015.13700
Radhakrishnan K, El-Mangoush MA, Gerryo SE. Descriptive epidemiology of selected neuromuscular disorders in Benghazi, Libya. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 1987;75(2):95-100. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0404.1987.tb07901.x
Radhakrishnan K, Thacker AK, Maloo JC. A clinical, epidemiological and genetic study of hereditary motor neuropathies in Benghazi, Libya. Journal of Neurology. 1988;235(7):422-424. doi:10.1007/bf00314486
Al-Gazali L, Hamamy H, Al-Arrayad S. Genetic disorders in the arab world. BMJ. 2006;333(7573):831-834. doi:10.1136/bmj.38982.704931.ae
Broadhead RC, Sehgal KC. Consanguinity and congenital anomalies in East Libya. Garyounis Med J. 1981; 4: 3–6.
Tadmouri GO. CTGA: The database for genetic disorders in Arab populations. Nucleic Acids Research. 2006;34(90001). doi:10.1093/nar/gkj015
El- Moghrabi HA, Ziuo FYM, El- houni NE, Khalil E). Congenital Malformations and its Relation with Consanguineous Marriages at Benghazi Libya. J Biomed Sci Res.2019; 1(2): 107. doi.org/10.36266/IJSCRM/105
Ben Halim N, Ben Alaya Bouafif N, Romdhane L, et al. Consanguinity, endogamy, and genetic disorders in Tunisia. Journal of Community Genetics. 2012;4(2):273-284. doi:10.1007/s12687-012-0128-7
Ben Halim N, Hsouna S, Lasram K, et al. Differential impact of consanguineous marriages on autosomal recessive diseases in Tunisia. American Journal of Human Biology. 2015;28(2):171-180. doi:10.1002/ajhb.22764
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Samira Daw Ameigaal, Najib Eljabu, Amna Ibrhem Mohammed, Rabab Abo Tabl Mohammed, Bushra Moktar Mohammed (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Open Access Policy
Libyan journal of medical Research (LJMR).is an open journal, therefore there are no fees required for downloading any publication from the journal website by authors, readers, and institution.
The journal applies the license of CC BY (a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license). This license allows authors to keep ownership f the copyright of their papers. But this license permits any user to download , print out, extract, reuse, archive, and distribute the article, so long as appropriate credit is given to the authors and the source of the work.
The license ensures that the article will be available as widely as possible and that the article can be included in any scientific archive.
Editorial Policy
The publication of an article in a peer reviewed journal is an essential model for Libyan journal of medical Research (LJMR). It is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editorial, the peer reviewer and the publisher.
Any manuscript or substantial parts of it, submitted to the journal must not be under consideration by any other journal. In general, the manuscript should not have already been published in any journal or other citable form, although it may have been deposited on a preprint server. Authors are required to ensure that no material submitted as part of a manuscript infringes existing copyrights, or the rights of a third party.
Authorship Policy
The manuscript authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution and intellectual input to the research submitted to the journal, including design, performance, interpretation of the reported study, and writing the manuscript. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors.
Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the manuscript but without intellectual input should only be recognized in the acknowledgements section of the manuscript. Also, one of the authors should be selected as the corresponding author to communicate with the journal and approve the final version of the manuscript for publication in the LJMR.
Peer-review Policy
- All the manuscripts submitted to LJMR will be subjected to the double-blinded peer-review process;
- The manuscript will be reviewed by two suitable experts in the respective subject area.
- Reports of all the reviewers will be considered while deciding on acceptance/revision or rejection of a manuscript.
- Editor-In-Chief will make the final decision, based on the reviewer’s comments.
- Editor-In-Chief can ask one or more advisory board members for their suggestions upon a manuscript, before making the final decision.
- Associate editor and review editors provide administrative support to maintain the integrity of the peer-review process.
- In case, authors challenge the editor’s negative decision with suitable arguments, the manuscript can be sent to one more reviewer and the final decision will be made based upon his recommendations.