{"title":"Justification of Universal Iron Supplementation for Infants 6-12 months in Regions with a High Prevalence of Thalassemia.","authors":"Phakatip Sinlapamongkolkul, Pacharapan Surapolchai, Vip Viprakasit","doi":"10.4084/MJHID.2023.056","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Many clinicians hesitate to adopt a universal infant iron supplementation program due to the risk of increased iron absorption for those with thalassemia. We aimed to determine thalassemia prevalence in 6- to 12-month-old infants, along with the iron status of those with and without thalassemia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study of infants attending the Well Baby Clinic at Thammasat University Hospital for routine checkups. Complete blood count, hemoglobin electrophoresis, iron parameters, and molecular genetics for common α- and β-thalassemia were evaluated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 97 of 206 (47%) participants had thalassemia minor, the majority having Hb E traits. None had thalassemia intermedia or major. Familial history of anemia or thalassemia presented an increased risk of detecting thalassemia minor in offspring (OR 5.18; 95% CI 2.60-10.33, <i>p</i>=0.001). There were no statistical differences in transferrin saturation, serum ferritin and hepcidin between iron-replete infants with thalassemia minor and those without. However, one-third of infants with thalassemia minor (31/97) also had iron deficiency anemia (IDA), with a similar risk of having iron deficiency to infants without thalassemia. There was no hepcidin suppression in our infants with thalassemia minor as compared to controls.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Both thalassemia and IDA are endemic to Southeast Asia. Infants with thalassemia minor, particularly with Hb E and α-thalassemia traits, are at risk of IDA. Our short-term universal iron supplementation program for 6- to 12-month-old infants does not appear to increase the risk of those with thalassemia minor developing iron overload in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":18498,"journal":{"name":"Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/eb/3f/mjhid-15-1-e2023056.PMC10497306.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4084/MJHID.2023.056","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HEMATOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Many clinicians hesitate to adopt a universal infant iron supplementation program due to the risk of increased iron absorption for those with thalassemia. We aimed to determine thalassemia prevalence in 6- to 12-month-old infants, along with the iron status of those with and without thalassemia.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study of infants attending the Well Baby Clinic at Thammasat University Hospital for routine checkups. Complete blood count, hemoglobin electrophoresis, iron parameters, and molecular genetics for common α- and β-thalassemia were evaluated.
Results: Overall, 97 of 206 (47%) participants had thalassemia minor, the majority having Hb E traits. None had thalassemia intermedia or major. Familial history of anemia or thalassemia presented an increased risk of detecting thalassemia minor in offspring (OR 5.18; 95% CI 2.60-10.33, p=0.001). There were no statistical differences in transferrin saturation, serum ferritin and hepcidin between iron-replete infants with thalassemia minor and those without. However, one-third of infants with thalassemia minor (31/97) also had iron deficiency anemia (IDA), with a similar risk of having iron deficiency to infants without thalassemia. There was no hepcidin suppression in our infants with thalassemia minor as compared to controls.
Conclusions: Both thalassemia and IDA are endemic to Southeast Asia. Infants with thalassemia minor, particularly with Hb E and α-thalassemia traits, are at risk of IDA. Our short-term universal iron supplementation program for 6- to 12-month-old infants does not appear to increase the risk of those with thalassemia minor developing iron overload in the future.
期刊介绍:
Reciprocal interdependence between infectious and hematologic diseases (malignant and non-malignant) is well known. This relationship is particularly evident in Mediterranean countries. Parasitosis as Malaria, Leishmaniosis, B Hookworms, Teniasis, very common in the southeast Mediterranean area, infect about a billion people and manifest prevalently with anemia so that they are usually diagnosed mostly by experienced hematologist on blood or bone marrow smear. On the other hand, infections are also a significant problem in patients affected by hematological malignancies. The blood is the primary vector of HIV infection, which otherwise manifest with symptoms related to a reduction in T lymphocytes. In turn, infections can favor the insurgency of hematological malignancies. The causative relationship between Epstein-Barr virus infection, Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis C virus, HIV and lymphoproliferative diseases is well known.