Is β-Thalassaemia Minor Associated with Metabolic Disorder?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of metabolic syndrome and its components in subjects with β-thalassaemia minor. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 194 subjects, i.e. 92 subjects with β-thalassaemia minor (study group) and 102 subjects without β-thalassaemia minor (control group), were enrolled into this case-control study. Haemoglobin electrophoresis was performed on all patients. The waist circumference and systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the subjects were recorded. Fasting blood glucose and serum lipid levels were measured. RESULTS: Both groups were similar in terms of age and sex (p > 0.05 for each). The percentages of haemoglobin A(2) (4.3 ± 0.4 vs. 2.0 ± 0.3) and haemoglobin F (3.38 ± 1.4 vs. 0.26 ± 0.4) and the mean corpuscular volumes (64 ± 4.7 vs. 81.5 ± 9.3) of the groups were statistically different (p < 0.001 for each). The frequency of metabolic syndrome and its components was similar in both groups (p > 0.05 for each). According to correlation analyses, the percentage of haemoglobin A(2) correlated with fasting insulin, fasting glucose, systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein levels (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: No association was found between β-thalassaemia minor and metabolic syndrome despite insulin resistance, which was shown in subjects with β-thalassaemia minor.