title: Prevalence of depression in patients with β-thalassemia as assessed by the Beck's Depression Inventory.
abstract: β-Thalassemia (β-thal) is a frequent, chronic hereditary disease, and a plausible cause for psychological disorders. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to identify the rate and severity of depression among Iranian patients with β-thal using the Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). β-Thalassemic patients aged 13-20 years [median age 17.2 years; 27 males (48.2%), 29 females (51.8%)], who presented to the Mofid Children Hospital, Tehran, Iran, for blood transfusions within a 1-year period, were asked to complete the BDI questionnaire. Based on the BDI score, patients were classified as normal or mild-to-severe depression groups, and the collected data were then analyzed according to age and sex. A total of 56 subjects completed the BDI form. Mean score for BDI was 14.27 ± 12.79. Based on the BDI results, 35 (62.5%) had a BDI score below 16 and were therefore not classified as being depressed, while seven (12.5%) patients suffered from severe depression (BDI > 47). Age and gender did not have any significant association with the BDI results (p = 0.52 and p = 0.67, respectively). The total prevalence of various degrees of depression was 30.8% in this study. We concluded that the noticeable rate of depression in thalassemic patients signifies the necessity for improving psychosocial care in this specific group of patients.
authors.affiliation: Tehran Heart Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Akbar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shafiee
authors.forename: Shiva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nazari
authors.forename: Soudeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jorjani
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bahraminia
authors.forename: Mohammadtaghi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadeghi-Koupaei
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Beck’s Depression Inventory; Iran; depression; epidemiology; thalassemia