Serum Zinc Level in Thalassemia Major

Objective: To compare serum zinc level between Thalassemia Major (TM) patients and normal population at Shafa Hospital in South West of Iran. Methodology: A total of 25 male and 36 female of TM patients were enrolled in this study. Out of 61 patients thirty were treated by deferroxamine (DFO) and 31 were on the combination of DFO and deferiprone (DEF) protocol therapy. Sixty normal subjects of the matching age and gender were recruited as controls. From each patient and control group 2 ml of blood was taken in fasting condition. Cell blood count and serum zinc were carried out for both thalassemia patients and normal subjects. Results: The mean age of patients and control group was 15±5years. Mean serum zinc level was 68.97±21.12µg/dl, 78.10±28.50 µg/dl, and 80.16±26.54 µg/dl in the TM with DFO, TM with DFO + DEF combination protocol and control group respectively. There was no significant correlation between patients and control group. However 50 percent of TM with DFO, 38.7 percent of TM with DFO + DEF and 32.8 percent of control group had hypozincemia. Conclusion: Nearly 40 to 50 percent of TM patients and one third of normal subjects are suffering from hypozincemia. This study shows that low level of serum zinc is a health problem in both thalassemia patients and normal population in South West of Iran.