What Everyone Should Know About Ethnic-Based Genetic Screening Before Pregnancy

Ancestral Population	Genetic Desease	Carrier Frequency	Detection Rate\*
All	cystic fibrosis	Approximately 4% in people of European (and Ashkenazi Jewish) ancestry and less common in other populations	Approximately 88% for Europeans, 94% for Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, less accurate for others
Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish ancestry	cystic fibrosis, Tay Sachs, Canavan, familial dysautonomia	Approximately 3% for Tay Sachs, 2% for Canavan and 3% for familial dysautonomia	Approximately 94-99%, (depending on the condition tested)
African/African-American, Chinese, Southeast Asian, or Mediterranean ancestry	Hemoglobinopathies, such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia	Approximately 10% of African-Americans are sickle cell carriers; 5-6% of Asians and 12% of some Mediterranean populations are thalassemia carriers.	Variable depending on method, but very high (in the 90 percentiles)