Publication Cover
Hemoglobin
international journal for hemoglobin research
Volume 42, 2018 - Issue 5-6
190
Views
7
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Quality of Life and Depression in Turkish Patients with β-Thalassemia Major: A Cross-Sectional Study

ORCID Icon, , , , , & show all
Pages 326-329 | Received 06 Aug 2018, Accepted 06 Nov 2018, Published online: 23 Jan 2019
 

Abstract

Thalassemias are the most common monogenic disorders worldwide. Thalassemia patients experience difficulties in their schooling, finding jobs and/or marriage because of functional and physical limitations caused by this disease. It is expected that the quality of life (QoL) of patients with thalassemia will be lower than those without this disease. The aim of this study was to benefit worldwide thalassemia patients in terms of QoL and mental health. This cross-sectional study was performed in Turkey. The study population consisted of of 57 β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients and the control group. The short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and Beck depression inventory (BDI) were used. The mean age of the patients was 21.6 ± 6.6 (age range 15-39) and the male-to-female ratio was 0.7. The mean SF-36 scores of the patient and the control groups were 59.2 ± 12.4 and 75.7 ± 11.8, and the mean BDI scores of the patients and controls were 13.5 ± 6.4 and 6.1 ± 3.7, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the total SF-36 and BDI scores of patients and controls. We aimed to investigate the effects of the decrease in morbidity and mortality of β-thalassemia (β-thal) due to regular transfusions and chelation therapy on the QoL and mental health of patients. The β-TM patients have a comparatively worse QoL score than the normal population. Improving QoL should be the target of clinicians who are monitoring adolescent or young adult β-TM patients.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,628.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.