Endocrine Disorders in Beta thalassemia Major Patients

Background Thalassemia is the most common hereditary disorder worldwide. The patient's’ survival is dependent on lifetime blood transfusion which leads to iron overload and its toxicity on various organs including endocrine glands. The study aimed to investigate endocrine disorders in patients with Beta-thalassemia major in the Southern Khorasan province, Iran. Materials and Methods In this descriptive cross sectional study of the 42 patients with Beta thalassemia major blood samples were taken in the fasting to check laboratory tests such as fasting blood sugar, calcium, phosphorous, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), parathyroid hormone (PTH), Ferritin. Data analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 software. Results 85.7% of patients had endocrine disorders. The most common endocrine abnormalities were hypogonadism (71.4%), hypoparathyroidism (21.4%), diabetes (14.3%), and hypothyroidism (7.2%), respectively. Conclusion Our results concluded that endocrine evaluation must be carried out regularly in patients with thalassemia major. Patients who have abnormal endocrine laboratory results should be reevaluated for compliance with chelation therapy and the transfusion program.