Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, the most common enzyme deficiency worldwide, causes a spectrum of disease including neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, acute hemolysis, and chronic hemolysis.
In affected individuals, a defect in an enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase causes red blood cells to break down prematurely.
That said, most people with the deficiency remain asymptomatic , , ,.
Hematology: basic principles and practice.
This is when the red blood cells break down faster than the body can make them.
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs.