Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Beta Thalassemia Patient in Comparison to Siblings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51985/JBUMDC2025688Keywords:
beta-Thalassemia, Mental Health, Physical Health, Psychological outcomesAbstract
Objective: Our study assessed psychological outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in transfusion-dependent
â-thalassemia patients as compared to their siblings in Pakistan, and identified whether stress and the frequency of transfusions
are independent predictors of physical functioning in thalassemia patients.
Study Design and Setting: This analytical cross-sectional survey was conducted at PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi (JanuaryJuly 2025).
Methodology: 70 patients aged between 7 and 25 years of confirmed â-thalassemia major, intermedia, or minor were
enrolled. Standardized scales have been used: PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSS-10, and SF-12. Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, t-tests,
and ANOVA were used where appropriate, and a hierarchical linear regression modeled predictor of PCS-12.
Results: The study included 70 patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (mean age, 13.4±2.67; 58.6% males), with
78.6% of them having â-thalassemia major. No significant difference was found between the psychological outcomes of
the patients as compared to their siblings (p >0.05). The higher the frequency of transfusion, the higher the depression,
anxiety, stress, and the lower the mental HRQoL(p<0.05). In multivariable analyses, stress had an independent relationship
to lower PCS-12 (beta=-0.383, p=0.009). Perceived stress (beta= -0.511, p<0.001) and worse mental HRQoL (beta= -0.433,
p<0.001) explained 42.7 percent of the variance in PCS-12. When stress was entered alone, it accounted for 27 percent.
Conclusion: Transfusion-related perceived stress appears to be the strongest psychosocial determinant of physical functioning,
which undermines mental HRQoL. Moreover, the patients and their famili
of PCS-12 variance (0.607, p<0.001)
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