Table 1. Baseline clinical and exercise characteristics according to thalassemia major and iron deficiency group.
| Characteristics | Iron deficiency group (n = 46) | Thalassemia group (n = 56) | p value |
| Age, mean (±SD) year | 24.1 (±6) | 24.5 (±6) | 0.78 |
| Male, n (%) | 25 (54.3) | 31 (55.4) | 0.91 |
| Tobacco use, n (%) | 3 (6.5) | 3 (5.3) | 0.80 |
| BMI, mean (±SD), kg/m2 | 21.56 (±2.3) | 21.08 (±2.6) | 0.33 |
| Baseline HR, (±SD), bpm | 84.8 (±16) | 87.6 (±12) | 0.34 |
| Baseline SBP, mean (±SD), mmHg | 115 (±8) | 115 (±6) | 0.83 |
| Baseline DBP, mean (±SD), mmHg | 70 (±5) | 69 (±5) | 0.69 |
| RPP baseline, mean (±SD), mmHg*bpm | 108 (±26) | 102 (±21) | 0.23 |
| Hemoglobin level (g/dL) | 9.06 ± 0.52 | 8.84 ± 1.01 | 0.48 |
| SI (μg/dL) | 21.09 ± 8.42 | 88.01 ± 33.6 | < 0.001 |
| Ferritin (ng/ml) | 4.57 ± 1.99 | 37.05 ± 7.34 | < 0.001 |
| TS (%) | 4.42 ± 2.28 | 26.84 ± 1.23 | < 0.001 |
Values are expressed as mean and standard deviation. p < 0.05 value indicates significance. In all cases, differences were not statistically significant. BMI, body mass index; HR, heart rate; RPP, rate pressure product; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SI, serum iron; TS, transferrin saturation. (RPP = HR * SBP). One way analysis of variance, Independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test.