FACTORS AFFECTING HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN ADULT PATIENTS WITH BETA-THALASSEMIA MAJOR.

Background: Health related quality of life (HRQoL) is a remarkable and powerful tool to decide the patient's perspective of their disease and its effect on their lives. Its application in thalassemia may have an impact on treatment option and may help predict mortality and morbidity.

Method: This case control study included a total of 62 adult patients registered as β-thalassemia major at the Jin pediatric hematology-oncology center (Duhok city) in addition to 50 age and sex matched healthy controls. The RAND Short Form 36 (SF-36) Questionnaire was used to evaluate HR-QoL score, and data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS).

Result: The HRQoL mean scores were significantly lower in adults with thalassemia major when compared to their matched controls (66.35% Vs. 84.32% with P<0.0005). Among the eight domains of Short Form-36, all except role emotional were significantly reduced as compared to their respective scores in the controls. Among the patient's group, the most affected domain was the general health, while the least affected was the social function. Lower mean HRQoL scores were seen in those with female gender which was clinically significant only in the pain domain (p=0.004). Significantly lower scores were recorded for physical function, role limitation physical, energy/fatigue and general health domains in those with heart failure.

Conclusion: The study documented that thalassemia major had lower HRQoL compared to their healthy counterparts. Further multicenter studies are needed to assess better the predictors of lower HRQoL in this population, since it would provide important insights for improving the management of the disease and the choices of the treatment.