Table 2. Clinical and radiological data of β-TM patients with mean serum ferritin above or lower than 2500 µg/l.
| Variable | Ferritin <2500 (µg/l) (n = 24) |
Ferritin ≥2500 (µg/l) (n = 21) |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 14.8 ± 1.9 | 13.7 ± 3.6 | 0.055 |
| Sex, n (%) | |||
| Males | 14 (58.3) | 11 (52.4) | 0.688 |
| Females | 10 (41.7) | 10 (47.6) | |
| BMI SDS | 0.32 (0.13–0.56) | 0.28 (0.17–0.39) | 0.581 |
| Transfusion index (ml/kg/year) | 320 (240–480) | 470 (380–530) | 0.012 |
| Disease duration (years) | 13.6 ± 2.7 | 12.2 ± 3.7 | 0.168 |
| EF (%) | 66.7 ± 4.5 | 60.0 ± 4.3 | 0.009 |
| FS (%) | 36.0 ± 3.9 | 34.6 ± 2.6 | 0.208 |
| LVESD | 3.06 ± 0.50 | 2.91 ± 0.42 | 0.373 |
| LVEDD | 4.64 ± 0.59 | 4.51 ± 0.71 | 0.578 |
| TRV (m/s) | 2.33 ± 0.42 | 2.58 ± 0.4 | 0.047 |
| Mean CIMT (mm) | 0.45 ± 0.09 | 0.49 ± 0.11 | 0.023 |
BMI: body mass index; SDS: standard deviation score; EF: ejection fraction; FS: fractional shortening; LVESD: left ventricle end systolic diameter; LVEDD: left ventricle end diastolic diameter; TRV: tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity; CIMT: carotid intima media thickness. Data were expressed as mean ± SD using Student’s t test for comparisons or as median (IQR) using Mann–Whitney test for comparisons unless specified as number (percentage) where Chi-square test (χ2) was used.