Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Major thalassemia is the most common hereditary anemia in Iran. The treatment of the disease is regular blood transfusion which in turn can cause side effects. This study tries to determine the prevalence of diabetes, thyroid and parathyroid diseases in thalassemia patients for the purpose of early diagnosis and treatment.

 Materials and Methods

 This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 206 thalassemia patients having been referred to Shahid Bahonar Hospital during April 2009 to April 2010. Test results for laboratory parameters of FBS, T4, TSH, Ca, P, PTH and Ferritin were extracted from patients’ medical records.

 Results

 Out of 206 patients, 90 (43.7%) were male and 116 (56.3%) female, with a mean ± SD age of 19.64±7.06 years. Out of the total number, 186 patients were tested for fast blood glucose 23 patients (12.37%) were pre-diabetes and 19 (10.22%) had diabetes mellitus. Out of 184 patients tested for thyroid function, 38 patients (14 male, 24 female) (20.65%) had abnormal thyroid test results and 35 were suffering from subclinical hypothyroidism and 3 from clinical hypothyroidism. One (1%) out of 96 patients who were checked for PTH was diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism.

 Conclusions

 Endocrine disease is common in multi-transfused thalassemia patients, and preventive measures such as endocrine tests and other control measures are crucial.