Quality of life in transfusion dependent thalassemia patients at national institute of child health.

Objective: To determine the quality of life of children suffering from transfusion dependent thalassemia. Study Design: Case-control study. Setting: Department of Pediatrics, National Institute of Child Health, Karachi, Pakistan. Period: March 2024 to August 2024. Methods: Children of either gender, aged between 6 months to 14 years, and having transfusion dependent thalassemia were included as cases (n=95). For controls (n=95), healthy volunteers without chronic disease, matched in terms of gender and age were included. At the time of enrollment, demographical data like age, gender, height, and weight were noted. Relevant laboratory investigations were performed and evaluated. Children of both groups along with their parents were interviewed about quality of life administering WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Results: In a total of 190 children (95 children in each group), 104 (54.7%) were male and 86 (45.3%) female. Physical health scores were 35.62±6.68 in children with transfusion dependent thalassemia vs. 74.92±7.92 in controls (p<0.001). Psychological health scores were 38.16±8.12 vs. 76.68±6.66 (p<0.001) among transfusion dependent thalassemia children versus controls, respectively. Social relationships were 41.19±6.14 vs. 77.50±7.01 (p<0.001) among transfusion dependent thalassemia children versus controls, respectively. Environmental scores were 43.51±6.93 vs. 71.59±6.06 (p<0.001), among transfusion dependent thalassemia children versus controls, respectively. Conclusion: Our study highlights the significant negative impact of transfusion-dependent thalassemia on the quality of life of affected children across all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.