Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is transmitted as an 
X-linked recessive disorder, and thus female infants are expected to be only 
rarely affected. Review of the records of 1,478 jaundiced newborn infants (728 
boys and 750 girls) screened for G6PD deficiency at the Foothills Provincial 
Hospital in Calgary showed 41 (5.6%) boys and 17 (2.2%) girls with this 
disorder. In view of the unexpected and unexplained high frequency of G6PD 
deficiency in female infants, I recommend that screening for this disorder be 
done in selected jaundiced infants regardless of sex.