title: Zinc in thalassemic patients and its relation with depression.
abstract: Studies have shown that there is a relationship between zinc levels and depression. Thalassemic patients are at risk of zinc deficiency due to various causes including Desferal injection. The aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate hair zinc levels in thalassemic patients and their association with depression. For the purposes of this survey, 50 patients with major thalassemia between 10-20 years old were selected randomly. The patients' hair zinc concentration was compared with a control group of similarly aged healthy individuals. Simultaneously, their psychological status was evaluated with either the "Beck" or "Marya Kovacs" test (according to age) so that the relation between depression and zinc concentration could be assessed. The mean hair zinc concentration in patients was more than the controls (193.96 +/- 92.4 ppm vs 149.6 +/- 72.21 ppm). Zinc deficiency was present in 10% of the patients, and 52% had some degree of depression. There was a reverse correlation between zinc deficiency and blood transfusion rate (p < 0.05). Also, while there were more incidences of depression among the zinc deficient patients, the difference was not significant. Regarding the high prevalence of depression and insignificant relation to the zinc deficiency in these thalassemic patients, this research suggests the need for further consideration concerning patients' psychological status, the risk factors of zinc deficiency, as well as extended assessment into other causes of depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. moafi@med.mui.ac.ir
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moafi
authors.forename: Gholamhossein
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mobaraki
authors.forename: Seyed Sadr
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.forename: Abtin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heidarzadeh
authors.forename: Iraj
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shahabi
authors.forename: Farshad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Majidi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc