How is favism inherited?

Favism is a congenital disease and is hereditary. Genetic diseases are mainly determined by genes, so we should understand the genetic factors of favism and which chromosome it is located on. In this way, we can check the genes on the chromosomes to determine whether there are genes for favism, because the genes for favism are mainly on chromosome x.

Is favism hereditary?

Many people know that favism is a hereditary disease, so they think it is a genetic disease. So, is favism definitely hereditary? Let’s take a look.

First, let us understand what genetic diseases are. Genetic diseases refer to diseases that are caused by changes in genetic material or controlled by pathogenic genes. Genetic diseases are often congenital or acquired.

For favism, it is due to the lack of 6-phosphate glucose dehydrogenase in the patient's body. Favism is an incomplete dominant sex-linked genetic disease, and the pathological gene is located on the X chromosome. That is, the son receives a Y chromosome from his father and an X chromosome from his mother.

Assume that the mother is a carrier of the gene causing favism, that is, one of the mother's X chromosomes is normal and the other X chromosome contains the disease-causing gene. Then the mother is normal, but the son may be sick. If it is a daughter, the daughter receives one X chromosome from the father and one from the mother. As long as the father is not sick, the daughter will have a normal X chromosome, so the daughter will not get sick. This also explains why most people with favism are men.

Is favism serious?

Is favism serious? Many people may not have heard of favism, and don’t quite understand what it is. So, let me share with you about favism.

Favism has a more complicated name in medicine, called red blood cell-glucose phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. The cause of favism is that after eating fresh broad beans or coming into contact with broad bean pollen, the human body becomes sensitive to certain substances in broad beans and develops a hemolytic reaction.

Favism is more common in children, and male patients account for approximately 90% of them. In the early stages of the disease, patients may experience anorexia, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, low fever, etc. In severe cases, they may also suffer from shock, heart and kidney failure, and may die within one or two days if rescue is not timely. Therefore, if a patient with favism shows abnormal symptoms, he or she should be sent to the hospital for treatment immediately.