ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Clinical population genetic studies of hereditary diseases in the pediatric population of North Ossetia – Alania
1 Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Moscow, Russia
2 North-Ossetian State Medical Academy, Vladikavkaz, Russia
3 Republican Children’s Clinical Hospital, Vladikavkaz, Russia
4 Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering, branch of the National Research Nuclear University (NRNU) MEPhI, Obninsk, Russia
5 Center of Protection of Motherhood and Childhood of the City of Sochi of the Ministry of Health of Krasnodar Krai, Sochi, Russia
Correspondence should be addressed: Rena A. Zinchenko
Moskvorechie, 1, 115522, Moscow, Russia; ur.liam@oknehcnizaner
Funding: the study was supported as part of the State Assignment of the Research Centre for Medical Genetics and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania.
Author contribution: Zinchenko RA, Tebieva IS, Kadyshev VV, Murtazina AF, Borovikov AO, Marakhonov AV, Getoeva ZK — patient examination, making the diagnosis, obtaining the informed consent, and biomaterial collection; Zinchenko RA, Tebieva IS — acquisition of data on the number of patients; Zinchenko RA, Tebieva IS, Kutsev SI — study planning, statistical analysis, manuscript writing; Marakhonov AV — analysis of molecular genetic tests; Tebieva IS, Marakhonov AV, Zinchenko RA — editing; Zinchenko RA, Kutsev SI — general management, editing.
Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Research Centre for Medical Genetics (protocol No. 7 dated 20 December 2017), it was compliant with the standards of Good Clinical Practice and evidence-based medicine. All patients submitted informed consent to participate in the study.
Currently, there is limited understanding about the cumulative prevalence, diversity, and frequency of distinct orphan hereditary diseases (OHDs) in the pediatric population, both within the Russian Federation and in the global literature. This gap exists despite a significant demand for such knowledge in healthcare and society. Variability and heterogeneity of the above indicators are common across different populations, reflecting significant genetic heterogeneity of OHDs. The study aimed to assess OHDs in the pediatric population of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania (RNO-A). A total of 543,817 people were evaluated, including 145,560 children aged 0–18 years. The cumulative prevalence of autosomal recessive (AR), autosomal dominant (AD), and X-linked (XL) OHDs was determined. The findings indicate an overall prevalence of OHDs among children of the RNO-A of 1 : 119, meaning that approximately 1% of children are diagnosed with these conditions. Notably, the total burden in children of all types of OHDs in rural areas exceeds that in urban areas and district centers by more than twofold. We identified 1,241 patients from 1,037 families with 241 distinct OHDs (109 with AD inheritance, 102 with AR inheritance, and 30 with XL inheritance). Three diseases were particularly prevalent in this population and have not been documented in similar studies: congenital myasthenia type 12, a rare form of congenital adrenal cortex dysfunction (3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency), and brachydactyly E — amelogenesis — mental retardation — nanism syndrome. Thus, the population of the RNO-A exhibits a unique spectrum of OHDs caused by rare mutations, some of which are infrequent in other populations of the world and the Russian Federation. The significantly higher prevalence of these disorders in rural populations is noteworthy, underscoring the need for tailored, region-specific programs aimed at preventing childhood disability and/or mortality.
Keywords: Russian Federation, Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, orphan hereditary diseases, cumulative prevalence of hereditary diseases among children, diversity of hereditary diseases common among children