Present-day G-6-PD deficit in Sardinia with respect to malarial morbidity and mortality in the past

Current Gd- gene distribution in Sardinia is analyzed using data on a sample of 4300 Sardinian males examined at the time of their pre-military checkup from 1983 to 1986, as well as data in the literature. Also examined is the relationship of current G-6-PD deficit distribution to probable malarial morbidity and mortality during the first half of this century. From data on deficit distribution by altitude analyzed for 100 villages of the island, the authors suggest the possibility of using altitude above sea level to replace incidence of malaria, which was used in the past only as an indicative, rather than substitutive, parameter. The authors also corroborate the hypothesis that G-6-PD deficit distribution is basically a consequence of selection caused by malarial endemicity, although several other factors may have interacted to influence Gd- gene incidence and distribution.