Table 1.
Medical history of the study participants
| Male (%) | Female (%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean haemoglobin level (SD) | 6.1 (0.3) | 5.7 (0.4) | 6 (0.2) |
| Mean weight in kilograms (SD) | 19.9 (1.4) | 18.2 (1.5) | 19.3 (1) |
| Mean height in cm (SD) | 113.6 (3.3) | 107.7 (4.5) | 111.4 (2.7) |
| Mean BMI in kg/cm2(SD) | 14.7 (0.3) | 15 (0.5) | 14.8 (0.3) |
| Blood groups | |||
| A | 7 (16.7) | 1 (4.2) | 8 (12.1) |
| B | 14 (33.3) | 11 (45.8) | 25 (37.9) |
| AB | 2 (4.8) | 2 (8.3) | 4 (6) |
| O | 19 (45.2) | 10 (41.7) | 29 (44) |
| Rh status | |||
| Positive | 41 (97.6) | 24 (100) | 65 (98.5) |
| Negative | 1 (2.4) | 0 | 1 (1.5) |
| History of hepatitis B vaccination | |||
| Complete | 9 (21.4) | 9 (37.5) | 18 (27.3) |
| Incomplete | 6 (14.3) | 1 (4.2) | 7 (10.6) |
| None | 27 (64.3) | 14 (58.3) | 41 (62.1) |
| Mean age of diagnosis of thalassemia Major (SD) | 1.4 (0.2) | 2.1 (0.5) | 1.6 (0.2) |
| Mean duration of blood transfusion (SD) | 7 (0.7) | 5.5 (0.7) | 6.5 (0.5) |
| History of thalassemia major in family | 3 (7.1) | 1 (4.2) | 4 (6.1) |
| History of consanguineous marriage in family | 5 (11.9) | 4 (16.7) | 9 (13.6) |
| Main source of blood for transfusion (n = 65) | |||
| Government blood bank | 42 (100) | 22 (95.7) | 64 (98.5) |
| Private blood bank | 0 | 1 (4.4) | 1 (1.5) |
| Use of other source of blood for transfusion | 24 (57.1) | 13 (54.2) | 37 (56.1) |
| Mean frequency of blood transfusion in days (SD) | 24.9 (2) | 28 (2) | 26 (1.5) |
| History of chelation therapy (n = 43) | |||
| Not indicated | 3 (11.1) | 2 (12.5) | 5 (11.6) |
| Not given | 17 (63) | 9 (56.3) | 26 (60.5) |
| Irregular | 4 (14.8) | 1 (6.2) | 5 (11.6) |
| Regular | 3 (11.1) | 4 (25) | 7 (16.3) |
| Transfusion index (High) | 14 (53.9) | 5 (31.3) | 19 (45.2) |
| Thalassemia trait status of father (HPLC) (n = 35) | |||
| No trait | 0 | 1 (7.7) | 1 (2.9) |
| Beta-thal trait | 20 (90.9) | 11 (84.6) | 31 (88.6) |
| HbE trait | 1 (4.6) | 1 (7.7) | 2 (5.7) |
| Soluble | 1 (4.5) | 0 | 1 (2.9) |
| Beta thalassemia/sickle cell trait (n = 29) | |||
| No trait | 2 (12.5) | 1 (7.7) | 3 (10.3) |
| Beta thalassemia trait | 13 (81.2) | 11 (84.6) | 24 (82.8) |
| Beta thal& sickle cell trait | 1 (6.3) | 1 (7.7) | 2 (6.9) |
| Mean serum ferritin level (SD) | 3,457.2 (522.7) | 2,933.4 (480.6) | 3,262.3 (372.1) |
| Mean SGOT (SD) | 71.1 (17.3) | 54.6 (6.5) | 65.1 (11.3) |
| Mean SGPT (SD) | 64.1 (14.7) | 46.2 (6) | 57.6 (9.6) |
| Mean serum alkaline phosphatase (SD) | 221.6 (11.2) | 187.9 (10.1) | 209.3 (8.2) |