Who Is At Risk for Fanconi Anemia?

Populations Affected

Fanconi anemia (FA) occurs in all racial and ethnic groups and affects men and women equally.

In the United States and Europe, about 1 out of every 300 people is an FA carrier. This carrier rate leads 1 in 360,000 people to be born with FA.

Two ethnic groups—Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of Eastern European descent) and Afrikaners (people native to South Africa)—are more likely than other groups to carry or have FA. In the United States, 1 out of 90 Ashkenazi Jews is a carrier, and 1 out of 30,000 is born with FA. In South Africa, Afrikaners have a carrier rate of 1 in 77, and 1 out of every 22,000 Afrikaners is born with FA.

Major Risk Factors

FA is an inherited disease that occurs when both parents pass an abnormal gene linked to FA to their child.

Children born into families with a history of FA are at risk of inheriting the disease. Children whose mother and father both have family histories of FA are at greater risk. A family history of FA means that it's possible that a parent carries an abnormal gene linked to the disease.

Children whose parents both carry the same abnormal gene are at greatest risk for inheriting FA. These children also are at risk of being carriers of the abnormal gene, even if they aren't born with FA. Children with only one parent who carries the abnormal gene are at risk of being carriers, but they're not at risk of being born with the disease.