BACKGROUND: Thalassemia minor (Tm) individuals, are generally considered healthy. However, the prognosis of Tm individuals has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis of Tm versus controls without β-thalassemia carrier state. METHODS: A total of 26,006 individuals seeking thalassemia screening at the AOOR Villa Sofia-V. Cervello, Palermo (Italy) were retrospectively studied. Logistic penalised regression model was used to estimate risk of potential complications and survival techniques were used to study mortality. RESULTS: We identified a total of 4943 Tm and 21,063 controls. Tm was associated with significantly higher risks of hospitalisation for cirrhosis (OR 1·94, 95% CI 1·30 to 2·90, p = 0·001), kidney disorders (OR 2·11, 95% CI 1·27 to 3·51, p = 0·004), cholelithiatis (OR 1·39, 95% CI 1·08 to 1·79, p = 0·010), and mood disorders (OR 2·08, 95% CI 1·15 to 3·75, p = 0·015). No statistically difference in life expectancy between thalassemia minor and control group was found (HR 1·090, 95% CI 0·777 to 1·555, p < 0·590; log-rank test p = .426). CONCLUSION: This study shows that Tm affects the prognosis of Tm carriers regarding health expectation. Probably, iron overload and anaemia for several years may be at the basis of these effects.
BACKGROUND:Thalassemia minor (Tm) individuals, are generally considered healthy. However, the prognosis of Tm individuals has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognosis of Tm versus controls without β-thalassemia carrier state. METHODS: A total of 26,006 individuals seeking thalassemia screening at the AOOR Villa Sofia-V. Cervello, Palermo (Italy) were retrospectively studied. Logistic penalised regression model was used to estimate risk of potential complications and survival techniques were used to study mortality. RESULTS: We identified a total of 4943 Tm and 21,063 controls. Tm was associated with significantly higher risks of hospitalisation for cirrhosis (OR 1·94, 95% CI 1·30 to 2·90, p = 0·001), kidney disorders (OR 2·11, 95% CI 1·27 to 3·51, p = 0·004), cholelithiatis (OR 1·39, 95% CI 1·08 to 1·79, p = 0·010), and mood disorders (OR 2·08, 95% CI 1·15 to 3·75, p = 0·015). No statistically difference in life expectancy between thalassemia minor and control group was found (HR 1·090, 95% CI 0·777 to 1·555, p < 0·590; log-rank test p = .426). CONCLUSION: This study shows that Tm affects the prognosis of Tm carriers regarding health expectation. Probably, iron overload and anaemia for several years may be at the basis of these effects.
Authors: Madeline H Kowalski; Huijun Qian; Ziyi Hou; Jonathan D Rosen; Amanda L Tapia; Yue Shan; Deepti Jain; Maria Argos; Donna K Arnett; Christy Avery; Kathleen C Barnes; Lewis C Becker; Stephanie A Bien; Joshua C Bis; John Blangero; Eric Boerwinkle; Donald W Bowden; Steve Buyske; Jianwen Cai; Michael H Cho; Seung Hoan Choi; Hélène Choquet; L Adrienne Cupples; Mary Cushman; Michelle Daya; Paul S de Vries; Patrick T Ellinor; Nauder Faraday; Myriam Fornage; Stacey Gabriel; Santhi K Ganesh; Misa Graff; Namrata Gupta; Jiang He; Susan R Heckbert; Bertha Hidalgo; Chani J Hodonsky; Marguerite R Irvin; Andrew D Johnson; Eric Jorgenson; Robert Kaplan; Sharon L R Kardia; Tanika N Kelly; Charles Kooperberg; Jessica A Lasky-Su; Ruth J F Loos; Steven A Lubitz; Rasika A Mathias; Caitlin P McHugh; Courtney Montgomery; Jee-Young Moon; Alanna C Morrison; Nicholette D Palmer; Nathan Pankratz; George J Papanicolaou; Juan M Peralta; Patricia A Peyser; Stephen S Rich; Jerome I Rotter; Edwin K Silverman; Jennifer A Smith; Nicholas L Smith; Kent D Taylor; Timothy A Thornton; Hemant K Tiwari; Russell P Tracy; Tao Wang; Scott T Weiss; Lu-Chen Weng; Kerri L Wiggins; James G Wilson; Lisa R Yanek; Sebastian Zöllner; Kari E North; Paul L Auer; Laura M Raffield; Alexander P Reiner; Yun Li Journal: PLoS Genet Date: 2019-12-23 Impact factor: 6.020