Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Premarital Screening of β-thalassemia among Undergraduate Students in Bangladesh

Introduction: Thalassemia is the most common congenital single gene disorder in Bangladesh. Considering the nature of the disease inherited from parents, thalassemia can effectively be prevented by premarital blood screening before marriage. The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness regarding premarital screening of β-thalassemia among undergraduate students. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among conveniently selected 156 undergraduate students of 2 universities at Dhaka University and American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) from January to December 2019. Data were collected by pretested semi-structured questionnaire through face to face interview. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 23.   Results: It was found that about 49.5%, 43.6% and 7.1% of respondents had poor, average and good knowledge about premarital screening of β-thalassemia respectively where there was statistical significance between the  level of knowledge and the parental consanguinity and the family history of thalassemia (p-value<.05). On the other hand, 66.7%, 32.1% and 1.3% had poor, average and good awareness in this regards respectively. The level of awareness was significantly associated with the parental consanguinity, family history of thalassemia, monthly income and family type (p-value<.05).   Conclusion: This study showed knowledge and awareness levels among undergraduate students regarding premarital screening of β-thalassemia were insufficient. The thalassemia prevention can be enhanced by a well-organized educational program focusing on thalassemia and early screening in young adults.   Keywords: Thalassemia; gene disorder; premarital blood screening