Comprehensive patient care improves quality of life in transfusion dependent patients with β-thalassemia.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate levels of quality of life (QOL) among thalassemia patients at the Hereditary Blood Disorders Center in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was performed on 43 transfusion dependent thalassemia patients compared with 43 normal subjects, as a control, using the World Health Organization Quality Of Life - Brief questionnaire between May 2012 and September 2012 at the Hereditary Blood Disorders Center, Maternity and Children Hospital in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


RESULTS
Forty-three thalassemia patients were examined, 23 males and 20 females, and compared with 43 peers (control group), 24 males and 19 females. There was no statistical difference between patients and controls for psychological domains (53.4 versus 56.9, p=0.059) and environmental domains (56.6 versus 57.0, p=0.884). Patients had better social QOL than the control group (39.3 versus 31.7, p=0.003), while the control group had better physical QOL (55.4 versus 61.9, p=0.047). Among patients, there was no statistical difference in QOL domains for variables of age, desferroxamine use, serum ferritin level, disease severity, presence of complications; splenectomy status, hepatitis C virus status, or family history.


CONCLUSIONS
Quality of life in thalassemia patients is similar to the control group particularly social life, though physical health is less. Improvement of patients care from all aspects will improve their QOL. More studies in this field are needed with a bigger sample size.
Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology Department, Maternity and Children Hospital, PO Box 40110, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah 41499, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (14) 8641046. E-mail. salahnbtc@yahoo.com.
Salah S
SS
Ali
Ahmad M
AM
Tarawah
Zakaria M
ZM
Al-Hawsawi
Mohammed A
MA
Zolaly
Waheed
W
Turkustani
D001803:Blood Transfusion; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*