Types and quality of life in Thalassemia patients in Ras-Al Khaimah

• Main Author: Ibrahim Yaseen Hachim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PAGEPress Publications 2014-08-01
• Series: Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: Thalassemia; Qulaity of life
• Online Access: https://mjhid.org/index.php/mjhid/article/view/1746

Background ?-thalassemia constitutes a major public health problem in the UAE. Although medical advances in the treatment of thalassemia have led to increased survival, patients still suffer disease complications and burdens from chronic treatment.The aim of this study is to determine the types of thalassemia in RAK and the impact of thalassemia on the quality of life of thalassemia patients. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among children and adolescents with thalassemia who received treatment at Saqr and Saif Bin Ghabash Hospitals from January to March 2012. The overall number of patients was 34. Quality of life assessment was performed for 25 patients and 25 control group using the Quality of Life SF-36 questionnaire. Results There was a significant reduction in all the domains of health related quality of life in thalassemic patients compared to control group. Patients in the age group (17-24 years) had a higher score in 6 of the eight domains and also higher score in the physical composite scores in comparison to the other age groups. The female participants had a higher score in all domains except for role-physical and role emotional when compared to the male participants. Patients with higher educational level had better quality of life in comparison with those who had lower educational level. Patients with less blood transfusion (<12/year) had better quality of life in 6 out of eight domains in comparison with patients with more blood transfusion. Patients with regular administration of iron chelation (?30/month) showed better quality of life than the other groups in 5 domains. Conclusion Quality of life in thalassemic patients was much lower than the control group.  Rate of blood transfusion, regular administration of iron chelation and level of education of our patients was the most important factor in determination of the quality of life.