Craniofacial Characteristics of Thalassemia Major Patients.
OBJECTIVE
Thalassemias major are the most common autosomal recessive disorders; they are characterized by anomalies in the synthesis of the beta chains of hemoglobin and are often associated with varying degrees of craniofacial anomalies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the craniofacial dimensions of β-thalassemia patients and to identify differences by comparing them to those of a control group.


METHODS
The study comprised 43 thalassemia major patients and 26 age- and sex- matched healthy control subjects. Anthropometric measurements were performed in six different craniofacial regions (head, face, nose, mouth, eyes, and ears); a total of 23 craniofacial variables were measured.


RESULTS
Craniofacial measurements in the regions of the face, nose, lips and mouth, and ears in the thalassemia major patient group yielded statistically significant differences compared to those in the control group (p<0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in the measurements of the head and eye regions.


CONCLUSIONS
The study increased our understanding of the craniofacial anatomy of thalassemia major patients and enabled us to obtain quantitative results.
Department of Anatomy, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey.
Sacide
S
Karakas
Department of Anatomy, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey.
Ayfer Metin
AM
Tellioglu
Department of Biophysics, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey.
Mehmet
M
Bilgin
Department of Biostatistics, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey.
Imran Kurt
IK
Omurlu
Department of Biophysics, Adnan Menderes University School of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey.
Sercin
S
Caliskan
Department of Genetic, Dicle University School of Medicine, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
Salih
S
Coskun
Thalassemia major; Turkey; craniofacial measurements