health related quality of life, depression, anxiety and stress in

abstract background awareness of factors associated with quality of life (qol) in patients with beta-thalassemia major (&beta-tm;) is necessary to develop clinical programs in order to improve social support and qol in &beta-tm; patients. this study aimed to examine qol, depression, anxiety, and stress in &beta-tm; patients in ahvaz, iran. materials and method a cross-sectional study was conducted on173 &beta-tm; patients aged &le12; years (12-18=55, &le19;=118). subjects were selected using a census method. data collection instrument consisted of three parts including: demographic questions, sf-36 questionnaire and depression, anxiety, and stress scale (das-21). results the participants obtained a mean score of 64.38±18.20 for qol, 6.4±5.1 for depression, 4.8±3.9 for anxiety, and 7.3±4.9 for stress. significant relationship was found between qol and employment (p=0.02) and education level (p< 0.001). patients in the age group of 12-18 years old had higher mean scores in the majority of qol dimensions than those aged &le19.; the mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were higher in patients aged &le19.; no significant correlation was observed between qol and depression, anxiety, stress scores, and other demographic variables. moreover, a significant inverse correlation was found between qol and depression (p< 0.001,r= -0.62), anxiety (p< 0.001,r= -0.55), and stress scores (p< 0.001, r= -0.5) . conclusion this study showed that &beta-tm; patients experienced a considerable decrease both in their overall qol and in its dimensions. a majority of the &beta-tm; patients were also suffered from mild to severe depression, anxiety, and stress.