title: Quality of life among adults with beta-thalassemia major in western Saudi Arabia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the quality of life in the thalassemia adult patients and clarify how effective the management is of these patients and whether a change in care is warranted.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, adult thalassemia patients (&gt;18 years) of both genders, attending the day care unit in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeedah, Saudi Arabia were surveyed using SF-36 questionnaire. Data were collected between October 2012 and December 2012. The questions highlighted 3 health status scales; physical functioning (PF), emotional functioning (EF), and social functioning (SF). Scores were analyzed using SPSS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-eight adults were surveyed (mean+/-SD: 26.02+/-5.56). These were made up of 60.4% males and 41.7% were Saudis. The frequency of blood transfusion was every 3 weeks in 81.3% of patients, but 18.8% were having transfusions less frequently. Half of our sampled patients were splenectomized (54.2%). The PF score for the total sample was 61.4 (SD=22.7), the SF score was 75 (SD=26.4) and the EF score was 69.7 (SD= 21.6); the SF and EF scores were lower in females and non-Saudis compared to male Saudis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PF score in our sample was low compared to other regional studies; the SF and EF scores were low in females and non-Saudis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Saud University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. E-mail. Abdullah.S.amoudi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdullah S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Amoudi
authors.forename: Abdulrahman H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Balkhoyor
authors.forename: Abdulrahman A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Abulaban
authors.forename: Abdulrahman M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Azab
authors.forename: Suhaib A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Radi
authors.forename: Mohammed D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ayoub
authors.forename: Basim T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Albayrouti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D055815:Young Adult; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000503:physiopathology*