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Background: Thalassemia, as an autosomal recessive disorder, leads to life-threatening anemia, in which patient's life depends on long term blood transfusion and regular medical care. In this study, body composition, nutritional intake and biochemical parameters of blood transfusing dependent major thalassemia patients were evaluated.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 74 major thalassemia volunteers referred to educational hospital in Yasuj city were recruited. Body composition, demographic and biochemical parameters were measured. Data were statistically analyzed using parametric and non-parametric statistical tests. P-values less than 0.05 were defined as statistically significant.Results: Data analysis showed that mean of age of participants in this cross-sectional study was 21.09± 7.7 years old. 21.6% of our patients were underweight, 68.9% of them were normal weight, 9.5% were overweight and none of them were obese. 8.1% of < 20 years old patients were short stature. About 80% of patients had low blood HDL concentration. About 30% of participants were at borderline levels and 42% of patients were at high and toxic levels of Ferritin. Approximately, all patients had hemoglobin lower than standard of healthy individuals. The mean body fat percent of patients was 24 ± 6.6%, which was higher than the normal value (P Discussion and Conclusion: Malnutrition, especially underweight was evident among our patients. Intake of the energy and most nutrients were lower than standard values. Biochemical parameters such as Ferritin and hemoglobin were also abnormal. Blood levels of vitamin D in thalassemia patients should be routinely monitored. Clinical trials on the effect of supplementation with nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium and zinc are recommended. Blood levels of vitamin D in thalassemia patients should be routinely monitored every six months. |
