Evaluating Health-Related Quality of Life in Thalassemia: Low-Dose Thalidomide vs. Standard Care—Insights from a Comparative Study

Thalassemia is a hemoglobinopathy that affects many people worldwide. Although treatments such as iron chelation and safe transfusions have improved life expectancy, patients still experience complications. Thalidomide, with its immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic properties, has been found to increase the expression of the γ-globin gene and promote erythroid cell proliferation. Our study compared thalidomide-treated and standard therapy groups, assessing health-related quality of life in thalassemia patients using the SF-36 questionnaire tailored for the Indian population. A total of 84 patients (Thalidomide: 50, Standard: 34) were enrolled. Sixty-four percent of patients on thalidomide became transfusion-free within 4-6 months. The mean duration of transfusion requirement in the thalidomide group increased from 20 to 35 days in 30% of patients. Patients aged ≤ 20 years, without splenectomy, and unemployed had significantly better physical health component (PHC) scores with thalidomide therapy compared to standard therapy (<i>P</i> = 0.027, <i>P</i> = 0.0007, and <i>P</i> = 0.045, respectively). On the other hand, patients aged >20 years and with intact spleen had significantly better mental health component (MHC) scores with thalidomide therapy compared to standard therapy (<i>P</i> = 0.006 and <i>P</i> < 0.00001, respectively). Thalidomide therapy showed significantly better MHC scores than standard therapy on all four scales. Thalidomide therapy shows significant promise in improving the HRQoL for thalassemia patients, particularly in those with early initiation, as indicated by enhanced physical and mental health component scores and improved vitality, emotional well-being, role-emotional, and social functioning compared to standard care.