JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA
Introduction: Many clinicians hesitate adopting a universal infant iron supplementation program due to the risk of increased iron absorption for those with thalassemia. We aimed to determine thalassemia prevalence in 6- to 12-month old infants, along with the iron status of those with and without t...
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PAGEPress Publications
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mjhid.org/index.php/mjhid/article/view/5422 |
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| author | Phakatip Sinlapamongkolkul Pacharapan Surapolchai Vip Viprakasit |
| author_facet | Phakatip Sinlapamongkolkul Pacharapan Surapolchai Vip Viprakasit |
| author_sort | Phakatip Sinlapamongkolkul |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Introduction: Many clinicians hesitate adopting a universal infant iron supplementation program due to the risk of increased iron absorption for those with thalassemia. We aimed to determine thalassemia prevalence in 6- to 12-month old infants, along with the iron status of those with and without thalassemia.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study of infants attending the Well Baby Clinic at Thammasat University Hospital for routine checkups. Complete blood count, hemoglobin electrophoresis, iron parameters, and molecular genetics for common a- and b-thalassemia were evaluated.
Results: Overall, 97 of 206 (47%) participants had thalassemia minor, the majority having Hb E traits. None had thalassemia intermedia or major. Familial history of anemia or thalassemia presented an increased risk of detecting thalassemia minor in offspring (OR 5.18; 95% CI 2.60-10.33, p=0.001). There were no statistical differences in transferrin saturation, serum ferritin and hepcidin between iron-replete infants with thalassemia minor and those without. However, one-third of infants with thalassemia minor (31/97) also had iron deficiency anemia (IDA), with a similar risk of having iron deficiency to infants without thalassemia. There was no hepcidin suppression in our infants with thalassemia minor as compared to controls.
Conclusions: Both thalassemia and IDA are endemic to Southeast Asia. Infants with thalassemia minor, particularly with Hb E and a-thalassemia traits, are at risk of IDA. Our short-term universal iron supplementation program for 6 to 12-month old infants does not appear to increase the risk of those with thalassemia minor developing iron overload in the future.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c9e0caf2c9e0467183e042fb83243c97 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2035-3006 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
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| series | Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases |
| spelling | doaj-art-c9e0caf2c9e0467183e042fb83243c972025-01-02T23:24:25ZengPAGEPress PublicationsMediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases2035-30062023-08-0115110.4084/MJHID.2023.056JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIAPhakatip Sinlapamongkolkul0Pacharapan Surapolchai1Vip Viprakasit2 a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:41:"Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University";}Vip † Introduction: Many clinicians hesitate adopting a universal infant iron supplementation program due to the risk of increased iron absorption for those with thalassemia. We aimed to determine thalassemia prevalence in 6- to 12-month old infants, along with the iron status of those with and without thalassemia. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study of infants attending the Well Baby Clinic at Thammasat University Hospital for routine checkups. Complete blood count, hemoglobin electrophoresis, iron parameters, and molecular genetics for common a- and b-thalassemia were evaluated. Results: Overall, 97 of 206 (47%) participants had thalassemia minor, the majority having Hb E traits. None had thalassemia intermedia or major. Familial history of anemia or thalassemia presented an increased risk of detecting thalassemia minor in offspring (OR 5.18; 95% CI 2.60-10.33, p=0.001). There were no statistical differences in transferrin saturation, serum ferritin and hepcidin between iron-replete infants with thalassemia minor and those without. However, one-third of infants with thalassemia minor (31/97) also had iron deficiency anemia (IDA), with a similar risk of having iron deficiency to infants without thalassemia. There was no hepcidin suppression in our infants with thalassemia minor as compared to controls. Conclusions: Both thalassemia and IDA are endemic to Southeast Asia. Infants with thalassemia minor, particularly with Hb E and a-thalassemia traits, are at risk of IDA. Our short-term universal iron supplementation program for 6 to 12-month old infants does not appear to increase the risk of those with thalassemia minor developing iron overload in the future. http://www.mjhid.org/index.php/mjhid/article/view/5422ThalassemiaIron supplementation |
| spellingShingle | Phakatip Sinlapamongkolkul Pacharapan Surapolchai Vip Viprakasit JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases Thalassemia Iron supplementation |
| title | JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA |
| title_full | JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA |
| title_fullStr | JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA |
| title_full_unstemmed | JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA |
| title_short | JUSTIFICATION OF UNIVERSAL IRON SUPPLEMENTATION FOR INFANTS 6-12 MONTHS IN REGIONS WITH A HIGH PREVALENCE OF THALASSEMIA |
| title_sort | justification of universal iron supplementation for infants 6 12 months in regions with a high prevalence of thalassemia |
| topic | Thalassemia Iron supplementation |
| url | http://www.mjhid.org/index.php/mjhid/article/view/5422 |
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