Evaluation of Growth Characteristics and Contributing Factors in Individuals with β-Thalassemia Major
Archives of Advances in Biosciences,
Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026),
28 April 2026
https://doi.org/10.22037/aab.v17i1.52424
Abstract
Introduction: Growth problems are very common in kids with β-thalassemia major and come from a mix of different causes. This study looked at height and weight status and what factors were linked to them in children with β-thalassemia major.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done with 80 children who have β-thalassemia major in Jiroft in 2024. We gathered information from their medical files using a checklist we created ourselves. It covered basic details about the children, their height and weight measurements, and serum ferritin levels. We used National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth charts to evaluate the growth parameters. All analysis was done in SPSS version 22 with descriptive statistics and the right inferential tests; we took p < 0.05 as significant.
Results: The children had an average age of 12.1 ± 3.4 years. In total, 78.7% had height below the 50th percentile, and 40% were below the 5th percentile. For weight, 87.6% were below the 50th percentile, and 30% fell below the 5th percentile. Growth issues were clearly more common in older children (p = 0.006), especially those over 10 years old. Gender didn’t show any meaningful link (p = 0.246). Most kids had high serum ferritin levels, but there was no real connection between ferritin and growth problems (p = 0.551).
Discussion: These results show a high rate of growth failure that gets worse as the children get older. That likely points to the build-up of disease effects and/or treatment over time.
Conclusion: Growth impairment is very common among children with β-thalassemia major in Jiroft and becomes more noticeable with age. Early and regular checks, along with complete management approaches, are really important to limit long-term growth issues.
- beta-Thalassemia, Genetic Carrier Screening, Heterozygote, Hematological Diseases, Anemia
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References
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