Question Details

Factors leading to an increase in the risk of thalassemia disease

Options

A

Certain ancestry

B

Family history of thalassemia

C

Bad food

D

Both A and B

Correct Answer :

Both A and B

Solution :

The correct option is Both A and B.


Step-by-Step Explanation:


1. Understanding Thalassemia:
Thalassemia is an inherited (genetic) blood disorder characterized by the body producing an abnormal form or inadequate amount of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Because it is a genetic condition passed down from parents to children, lifestyle factors such as eating habits do not cause or directly increase the risk of developing the disease itself.


2. Analyzing Option A (Certain ancestry):
Thalassemia is more prevalent in specific ethnic populations. It occurs most frequently in people of Mediterranean, African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian ancestry. Therefore, belonging to these specific ancestral backgrounds increases a person's risk of inheriting the mutated genes responsible for thalassemia.


3. Analyzing Option B (Family history of thalassemia):
Since thalassemia is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, it is passed from parents to offspring through mutated genes. If a person has a family history of thalassemia (meaning parents or close relatives carry the trait or have the disease), their risk of inheriting the gene mutations is significantly higher.


4. Analyzing Option C (Bad food):
Eating habits, diet, or "bad food" cannot cause or increase the genetic risk of inheriting thalassemia, as it is strictly a congenital genetic disorder present from birth.


Conclusion:
Both certain ancestry (Option A) and a family history of the disease (Option B) are major factors that increase the risk of thalassemia. Therefore, the option "Both A and B" is correct.

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