Serum Lipid Values in Children with Beta Thalassemia Major

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the blood lipid profile in children with beta-Thalassemia major, and to determine the factors that affect it. Material and Method: Files of eighty-five patients between the ages of five and fifteen with beta-Thalassemia major who were receiving regular chelation therapy followed by from paediatric policlinic of our hospital were examined retrospectively. Blood lipid profiles of fifty-five healthy children were taken for use as the control group. A total of 117 children were enrolled and examined in the study. Findings: Hb and Hct values of the group with Beta-Thalassemia major were significantly lower than the control group (p<0.005). Ferritin values in the group with Beta-Thalassemia major were found to be significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.005). Cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with Beta-Thalassemia major than in the control group (p<0.001), while the triglyceride level was found to be higher (p<0.001). Result: We determined a positive correlation between triglyceride and serum ferritin levels. It may indicate excessive iron loading, and changes in blood lipid values in patients with Beta-Thalassemia major. *Corresponding author: Vefik Arıca, M.D, Medical Faculty of the Mustafa Kemal University, 31100, Serinyol, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey, Tel: +90 326 2291000; +90 505 6797877; Fax: +90 326 2455654; E-mail: [email protected] Received March 12, 2012; Accepted July 20, 2012; Published July 23, 2012 Citation: Arıca V, Arıca S, Özer C, Çevik M (2012) Serum Lipid Values in Children with Beta Thalassemia Major. Pediat Therapeut 2:130. doi:10.4172/21610665.1000130 Copyright: © 2012 Arıca V, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.