Anti-Oxidant Vitamins and Trace Elements in Children With Thalassemia

Background: Thalassemia is the most common hereditary anemia in human. Almost 150 million people carry the thalassemia gene universally and it is more common in Mediterranean regions than anywhere in the world. The most common types of disease are the alpha and beta thalassemia.Objective: The goal of the study was to determine the prevalence of vitamins (A, C, E, D3, B12 & folic acid) and trace elements (zinc, copper& selenium) deficiencies in chronically transfused children with thalassemia and their relationship to: age, iron burden, and organ function.Methods: This study carried out at Hematology out patient clinic of pediatric department at Zagazig university hospital. The study included total number of 84 children, classified into. Group : Included 54 thalassemic patients. Group : Included 30 healthy & hematologically normal subjects as control group.Results: Serum level of vitamins & trace elements showed very highly significant difference between studied groups (p<0.001). Age had no significant difference between groups and it did not correlate with any of the serum level of vitamins & trace elements (p>0.05). Hemoglobin concentration showed highly significant decreased in the patient when compared to control group (P value <0.001). Also, there is significant elevated levels of the mean total bilirubin, AST& ALT (P value <0.05).Conclusion: Chronically transfused thalassemia patients have broad spectrum of nutrional deficiencies of both antioxidant vitamins and trace elements. The precise mechanism of these abnormalities is multifactorial, iorn overload, hemolysis, poor nutrient intake, absorption or increased nutrient turnover may play a role.