Investigating the Role of Ferritin in Determining Sexual Underdevelopment in Beta-Thalassemia Major Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analysis From Pakistan
| Autor: | Mehwish Kaneez, Assadullah Akram Bhatti, Hafiz Tanveer Tariq, Zia Shahid, Sarmad Hassan, Muhammad Sheharyar Khan, Saqlain Ghazanfar, Atifa Shuaib, Mustafa Tauseef Razzaq, Arslan Jawad |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Receiver operating characteristic biology business.industry Cross-sectional study ferritin Endocrinology/Diabetes/Metabolism General Engineering Beta thalassemia Hematology sexual underdevelopment medicine.disease Pediatrics beta-thalassemia Ferritin Underdevelopment Internal medicine biology.protein Medicine Sexual maturity tanner staging system iron overload business Prospective cohort study Hemochromatosis |
| Zdroj: | Cureus |
| ISSN: | 2168-8184 |
| Popis: | Background Beta-thalassemia major, a genetic disorder, delineates a vast spectrum of hematological and endocrinological complications. Elevated serum ferritin levels in beta-thalassemia patients represent various transfusion-related complications including infection, hemochromatosis, and severe iron overload that might lead to endocrinopathies such as hypogonadism leading to sexual underdevelopment. Our study, thus, aims to explore the role of ferritin in determining sexual underdevelopment in such patients. Methods This multicentric cross-sectional study included a total of 120 beta-thalassemia patients. The sexual development of the patients was assessed using the Tanner staging system. Serum ferritin levels and other demographical parameters of the patients were collected. Independent-samples t-test, chi-square test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the data. Results Out of 120 patients, 70 patients were males with a mean age of 18.95 ± 4.21 years. According to the Tanner staging system, 48 patients were sexually underdeveloped while 72 patients achieved sexual maturity. ROC curve analysis showed that ferritin levels at a cutoff value of 4900 mg/dL were 73.7% sensitive and 71.1% specific to predict sexual underdevelopment in beta-thalassemia patients. Conclusions Elevated serum ferritin levels were moderately sensitive and specific in predicting sexual underdevelopment in beta-thalassemia patients. This can serve as a low-cost parameter in determining sexual underdevelopment in such patients. More prospective cohort studies are needed to establish the association between elevated serum ferritin levels and sexual underdevelopment. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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