Research Article: A Cross-Sectional, Multicentric, Disease-Specific, Health-Related Quality of Life Study in Greek Transfusion Dependent Thalassemia Patients
Abstract:
The assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in thalassemia offers a holistic approach to the disease and facilitates better communication between physicians and patients. This study aimed to evaluate the HRQoL of transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) patients in Greece. This was a multicentric, cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 involving 283 adult TDT patients. All participants completed a set of two QoL questionnaires, the generic SF-36v2 and the disease-specific TranQol. Demographic and clinical characteristics were used to predefine patient subgroups. Significant factors identified in the univariate analysis were entered into a multivariate analysis to assess their effect on HRQoL. The SF-36 scores of TDT patients were consistently lower compared to the general population in Greece. The mean summary score of TranQol was relatively high (71 ± 14%), exceeding levels observed in national surveys in other countries. Employment emerged as the most significant independent factor associated with better HRQoL, whereas age had the most significant negative effect. This study represents the first comprehensive QoL assessment of a representative sample of the TDT population in Greece. The implementation of TranQol allowed for the quantification of HRQoL in Greece, establishing a baseline for future follow-up, and identifying more vulnerable patient subgroups.
Introduction:
Transfusion-dependent ?-thalassemia (TDT) is a congenital disease characterized by reduced or no production of hemoglobin, leading to chronic anemia and necessitating lifelong blood transfusions [1]. During the last decades, TDT has gradually transformed from a life-threatening disorder into a chronic disease. The significant increase in survival rates has been attributed to the implementation of safe and systematic blood transfusions, the development of three effective iron chelators, and the guided follow-up of…
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