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Abstract

Background β-thalassemia major (BTM) is a severe form of transfusion-dependent hemolytic anemia associated with multiple complications, primarily due to iron overload. Endocrinopathies are among the most common long-term morbidities in this population. Objectives To evaluate the prevalence of endocrine complications including hypothyroidism, hypocalcemia, delayed puberty, impaired fasting blood glucose, and diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents with β-thalassemia major, and to assess their association with serum iron overload. Methods This cross-sectional study included 52 children and adolescents 11-18 years age with β-thalassemia major attending Ahmed Maher Teaching Hospital (2022–2024). Anthropometric measurements, Tanner staging, thyroid function tests, gonadal hormones, serum calcium, phosphorus, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, and serum ferritin were assessed and compared with 34 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Results Patients with β-TM had significantly lower weight, height, and BMI compared with controls, with 53.8% and 59.6% falling below the 5th percentile for weight and height, respectively (p=0.005 and p= 0.008 respectively). Delayed puberty was present in 86% of patients (p

Article Type

Original Study

Subject Area

Pediatrics

IRB Number

HAM00086

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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