Quality of Life and Depression in Turkish Patients with β-Thalassemia Major: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Thalassemias are the most common monogenic disorders worldwide. Thalassemia patients experience difficulties in their schooling, finding jobs and/or marriage because of functional and physical limitations caused by this disease. It is expected that the quality of life (QoL) of patients with thalassemia will be lower than those without this disease. The aim of this study was to benefit worldwide thalassemia patients in terms of QoL and mental health. This cross-sectional study was performed in Turkey. The study population consisted of of 57 β-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients and the control group. The short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and Beck depression inventory (BDI) were used. The mean age of the patients was 21.6 ± 6.6 (age range 15-39) and the male-to-female ratio was 0.7. The mean SF-36 scores of the patient and the control groups were 59.2 ± 12.4 and 75.7 ± 11.8, and the mean BDI scores of the patients and controls were 13.5 ± 6.4 and 6.1 ± 3.7, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the total SF-36 and BDI scores of patients and controls. We aimed to investigate the effects of the decrease in morbidity and mortality of β-thalassemia (β-thal) due to regular transfusions and chelation therapy on the QoL and mental health of patients. The β-TM patients have a comparatively worse QoL score than the normal population. Improving QoL should be the target of clinicians who are monitoring adolescent or young adult β-TM patients.