Table 1.
Clinical, laboratory data, compliance, and treatment in thalassemia major patients with and without multiple endocrine complications (MEC)
| Variables | Thalassemic patients with multiple endocrine complications (mean ± SD) (11 patients) | Thalassemic patients without endocrine complications (mean ± SD) (24 patients) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Age (yr) | 35.2±4.3 | 35.9±4.0 | 0.642 |
|
| |||
| Sex (M/F) | 3/8 | 12/12 | 0.207 |
|
| |||
| Weight (Kg) | 61.3±11.5 | 55.8±8.1 | 0.173 |
|
| |||
| Short stature (< 3rd centile) | 3/11 | 6/24 | 0.6 |
| Males | 0/3 | 3/12 | 0.48 |
| Females | 3/8 | 3/12 | 0.46 |
|
| |||
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | 24.5±6.4 | 29.6±34.3 | 0.713 |
|
| |||
| Splenectomy (n) | 9/11 | 8/24 | 0.008 |
|
| |||
| Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (n) | 7/11 | - | NA |
| Arrested puberty (n) | 1/11 (female) | - | NA |
| Secondary amenorrhea (n) | 3/11 | - | NA |
|
| |||
| Diabetes insulin dependent (n) | 10/11 | - | NA |
|
| |||
| Hypoparathyroidism (n) | 4/11 | - | NA |
|
| |||
| Subclinical hypothyroidism (n) | 8/11 | NA | |
| Overt hypothyroidism (n) | 2/11 | NA | |
| Central hypothyroidism (n) | 1/11 | NA | |
|
| |||
| Hypoadrenalism (n) | 0/11 | - | NA |
|
| |||
| Hyperprolactinemia (n) | 0/11 | - | NA |
|
| |||
| Chelation therapy | |||
| DFO (n) | 5/11 | 11/24 | |
| DFP (n) | 2/11 | 4/24 | 0.953 |
| DFO + DFP (n) | 2/11 | 3/24 | |
| DFX (n) | 2/11 | 6/24 | |
|
| |||
| Poor compliance to chelation therapy (n) | 8/11 | 4/24 | 0.002 |
Legend: MEC –Multiple Endocrine Complications; NA: Not Applicable; deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP), deferasirox (DFX)