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Nutrition Status in Patients with Thalassemia Intermedia

Thalassemia patients, especially children are at risk of malnutrition. This study was conducted to assess nutritional status in children (5–15 years old) with thalassemia intermedia at Hematology Clinic, Siriraj Hospital. Twelve boys and 18 girls with thalassemia intermedia participated in this study. Nutritional status was evaluated by anthropometry, biochemical parameters and subjective global assessment (SGA). Dietary intake was also assessed by 24‐hour recall. All subjects appeared to have normal nutrition when assessed by SGA. However, according to % weight for age (W/A), 12 subjects (40.0%) were mildly malnourished, and 7 subjects (23.3%) were moderately malnourished. Based on % height for age (H/A), 26.7% and 10.0% of the subjects were mildly and moderately malnourished, respectively. The result of % weight for height (W/H) revealed that mild malnutrition was found in 46.7% of the subjects. Percentages of W/A, H/A, and W/H were correlated with tricep skin fold (TSF) (r = 0.70, 0.47, 0.50, respectively). Subjects had total energy intake lower than the recommendation. Serum total protein and albumin levels were in the normal range. This study demonstrated that thalassemia intermedia patients had various degrees of malnutrition. Combination of multiple methods in evaluating nutrition status may be necessary. This study was partly supported by Chulalongkorn University graduate school thesis grant.