Mediterranean descent
A person of Mediterranean descent may indeed have low blood levels of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin usually helps the red blood cells to transport oxygenated blood throughout the body; thus, low levels of hemoglobin causes anemia and leaves the body fatigued. The high level of low levels of hemoglobin in people of the Mediterranean is because of consanguinity. Consanguineous marriages that are common in the Mediterranean region, whereby between 25 and 70% of marriage unions involve members of families that are related by blood. The religious, cultural, and economic factors usually enhance such marriages; thus, about 10% of children from the region have parents that are related (Yerebakan, 2016). The fact that the low-level hemoglobin is transmitted from parents to children makes the disorder prevalent to people of the Mediterranean who are highly related in blood.
Nurses need to be aware of the differences in the level of hemoglobin in the region to guide people who would like to have children. Nurses can use an assisted reproductive technology diagnosis, which screens the embryo at the early stages for gene mutation (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Through this screening, nurses can help parents in the region who have low levels of hemoglobin to have healthy babies.
How hemoglobin levels may affect a person’s health
People with low levels of hemoglobin usually get too much iron in their bodies, which may be obtained from the condition or frequent blood transfusions. When the level of iron in the body is high, it can damage the heart, the liver, and hormones that regulate other body processes, which affects an individual’s health (Mayo Clinic, 2019). Low levels of hemoglobin can expand the bone marrow, which can cause deformities in the bones. Besides, it enlarges the spleen, which increased the risk of body infections. When the spleen gets too large, the doctor can recommend the removal of the spleen, which can affect the health of the affected person.