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Hemoglobin
international journal for hemoglobin research
Volume 33, 2009 - Issue 2
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Original Article

Abnormal Glucose Tolerance in β-Thalassemia: Assessment of Risk Factors

, , &
Pages 101-108 | Received 30 May 2008, Accepted 27 Oct 2008, Published online: 07 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

In β-thalassemia (β-thal) major, the pathogenetic mechanisms leading from siderosis to diabetes are poorly understood. We assessed the glycometabolic status in transfusion-dependent Egyptian β-thal patients and evaluated their possible risk factors for abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT). An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was done on 54 multi-transfused patients and 28 age-matched normal controls, measuring their serum insulin levels at 0 and 120 min. Insulin sensitivity and insulin release indices were calculated. Indicators of iron overload and liver status were recorded. Thirteen patients (24.1%) had AGT. Cases with AGT had significantly higher mean postprandial insulin, fasting insulin resistance index (FIRI) and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) insulin resistance (IR), p = 0.0001 for all, and significantly lower mean HOMA β cell, p = 0.007, when compared with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) cases. Abnormal glucose tolerance is common in multi-transfused β-thal major patients and could be attributed to early impaired β-cell function with increasing IR.

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