Table 1.
Clinical and physiological characteristics of patients with nontransfusion-dependent thalassemia and control subjects
| Variables | TI (n=211) | Control (n=120) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| β-TI and Hb E/β (n=97) | Hb H (n=114) | |||
| Disease, n (%) | ||||
| β thalassaemia intermedia | 79 (37.44) | |||
| Hb H disease | 114 (54.03) | |||
| Hb E/β thalassaemia | 18 (8.53) | |||
| Male: female, n (%) | 54 (55.67): 43 (44.33) | 61 (53.51): 53 (46.49) | 67 (55.83): 53 (44.17) | |
| Mean age ± SD, years | 22.93±11.18 | 23.63±13.29 | 23.98±12.71 | |
| Age category, n (%) | ||||
| 4–≤10 years | 18 (18.56) | 21 (18.42) | 20 (16.67) | |
| >10–≤18 years | 16 (16.49) | 25 (21.92) | 24 (20.00) | |
| >18–≤35 years | 48 (49.48) | 48 (42.11) | 52 (43.33) | |
| >35–≤50 years | 14 (14.43) | 17 (14.91) | 22 (18.33) | |
| >50 years | 1 (1.03) | 3 (2.63) | 2 (1.67) | |
| Mean height ± SD, cm | 151.48±19.78 | 149.47±18.75 | 148.51±13.84 | |
| Mean weight ± SD, kg | 44.13±14.82 | 43.14±14.45 | 45.97±9.86 | * |
| Mean BMI ± SD, kg/m2 | 18.60±3.39 | 18.60±3.23 | 20.97±1.71 | * |
| Median LIC (IQR, range) mg/g | 13.70 (14.30, 0.60–43.00) | 7.70 (12.58, 0.60–43.00) | ||
| LIC category, n (%) | ||||
| <3 mg/g | 3 (5.66) | 12 (24.00) | ||
| ≥3–≤7 mg/g | 12 (2.26) | 12 (24.00) | ||
| >7–≤15 mg/g | 18 (33.96) | 12 (24.00) | ||
| >15 mg/g | 20 (37.74) | 14 (28.00) | ||
| Median serum ferritin (IQR, range) ng/mL |
922.00 (1455.44, 26.88–8,300.00) | 564.51 (985.93, 30.75–7,440.78) | ||
| Serum ferritin category, n (%) | ||||
| <300 ng/mL | 15 (15.79) | 29 (26.85) | ||
| ≥300–≤800 ng/mL | 26 (27.37) | 39 (36.11) | ||
| >800–≤2,500 ng/mL | 37 (38.95) | 30 (27.78) | ||
| >2,500 ng/mL | 17 (17.89) | 10 (9.26) | ||
| Liver function | ||||
| Median AST(IQR, range), U/L | 30.50 (21.00, 13.00–122.00) | 29.00 (20.00, 13.00–96.00) | ||
| Median ALT (IQR, range), U/L | 20.00 (29.75, 4.00–120.00) | 29.00 (20.00, 13.00–96.00) | ||
| Median ALB (IQR, range), g/L | 47.00 (4.37, 35.60–49.30) | 47.40 (5.00, 27.00–50.00) | ||
| Glucose homeostasis | ||||
| Median FBG (IQR, range), mmol/L | 3.63 (1.07, 1.39–7.42) | 3.79 (1.49, 1.98–5.60) | 4.52 (0.76, 1.25–6.80) | * |
| Median PBG30 (IQR, range), mmol/L | 6.73 (1.94, 3.03–11.05) | 7.33 (2.76, 2.10–12.51) | ||
| Median PBG120 (IQR, range), mmol/L | 5.73 (1.92, 2.73–10.20) | 5.74 (1.73, 2.65–14.03) | ||
| Median FINS (IQR, range), pmol/L | 27.71 (27.18, 1.75–197.30) | 27.52 (28.44, 4.64–164.50) | 32.74 (29.42, 5.12–138.70) | |
| Median PINS30 (IQR, range), pmol/L | 213.30 (196.15, 24.19–1,292.00) | 194.85 (261.06, 13.89–1224.00) | ||
| Median PINS120 (IQR, range), pmol/L | 130.60 (201.44, 12.86–806.40) | 133.00 (178.74, 14.62–1196.00) | ||
| Median FA (IQR, range), umol/L | 193.00 (51.00, 90.00–300.00) | 188.00 (54.00, 106.00–364.67) | ||
| Median HOMA-IR (IQR, range) | 0.67 (0.62, 0.04–4.73) | 0.66 (0.71, 0.08–4.37) | 0.89 (0.87, 0.12–4.86) | * |
| Median HOMA-B (IQR, range) | 196.11 (30.89, 11.42–1,664.51) | 136.09 (183.40, 3.51–1596.55) | 82.30 (95.35, 14.09–632.19) | * |
| Median ISI (IQR, range) | 0.07 (0.07, 0.01–0.33) | 0.07 (0.07, 0.01–0.38) | 0.89 (1.05, 0.01–4.82) | * |
| Median IGI30 (IQR, range) | 0.45 (0.50, 0.01–2.70) | 0.38 (0.62, 0.01–2.85) | ||
| Median IGI120 (IQR, range) | 0.37 (0.57, 0.01–3.59) | 0.37 (0.48, 0.01–4.72) | ||
| Median AUC-I (≤120 mins) (IQR, range) | 303.26 (371.35, 36.92–1,953.08) | 326.43 (404.74, 54.78–1785.73) | ||
Notes: LIC is measured in mg Fe/g dw; serum ferritin is measured in ng/mL; *P<0.05.
Abbreviations: TI, thalassemia intermedia; dw, dry weight; LIC, liver iron concentration; SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range; BMI, body mass index; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; ALB, albumin; AUC-I, area under the curve of total insulin secretion; FBG, fasting blood glucose; PBG30, half-hour postprandial blood glucose; PBG120, 2 hrs postprandial blood glucose; FINS, fasting insulin; PINS30, half-hour postprandial insulin; PINS120, 2 hrs postprandial insulin; FA, fructosamine; HOMA-IR, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance; HOMA-β, homeostatic model assessment beta cell function; ISI, insulin sensitivity index; IGI30, early phase insulinogenic index; IGI120, delayed phase insulinogenic index.