Cultural preferences and limited public resources influence the spectrum of thalassemia in Egypt.
J Pediatr Hematol Oncol
; 37(4): 281-4, 2015 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25811748
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Cultural beliefs of Egyptians with respect to the origin of thalassemia and its prevention, as well as national resources available for care, often differ from those of Western countries.OBJECTIVES:
To assess the impact of cultural attitudes and the effect of limited medical and financial resources that could affect the management of Egyptian thalassemic patients.SUBJECTS:
A cross sectional study included 205 Egyptians ß-thalassemia major (ß-TM) patients, with a mean age of 149±87.90 months and a male to female ratio of 94111.METHODS:
Demographic data stressing on order of birth, consanguineous marriage, and family history of ß-TM, transfusion, and chelation therapy, were reported. HCV-Ab, HBV-Ag, and complete blood count were recorded with calculation of mean pretransfusional hemoglobin.RESULTS:
The age distribution was relatively nonhomogenous, with 39% of patients between 10 and 20 years of age and 16% were younger than 5. There were high family birth rates and 35% of patients were third or more in order of birth and a marked cultural preference for consanguineous marriage, representing 61% of all the parents' marriages, as well as a high rate (59.5%) of a positive family history of ß-TM. Patients transfused on low pretransfusion hemoglobin levels around 8 g/dL, and those receiving blood transfusion before the establishment of National Blood Transfusion Services showed a statistically significant higher rate of positive hepatitis B and C viral infections. Chelation therapy tended to start at late age, mean age was around 4 years. Before 2000, subcutaneous deferoxamine was the most widely used chelation, and since then a considerable number of patients (50%) had started to use oral iron chelators.CONCLUSIONS:
The strong cultural preferences for consanguineous marriage and limited preventive programmes and resources have had a negative impact on the management of Egyptians thalassemic patients.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Thalassemia
/
Culture
Type of study:
Observational_studies
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
/
Patient_preference
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
J Pediatr Hematol Oncol
Journal subject:
HEMATOLOGIA
/
NEOPLASIAS
/
PEDIATRIA
Year:
2015
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Egipto
Country of publication:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
/
EUA
/
UNITED STATES
/
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
/
US
/
USA