Abstract
have children with appropriate care. This study aimed to review the marital status and maternal-fetal outcomes of NTDTM patients at
Thalassemia Research Center (TRC) of Sari, Iran.
Methods: In this study, medical records of patients with β-thalassemia major were reviewed from July 2014 to December 2014. All
the patients were interviewed, and a questionnaire was designated by research methodology experts. Reliability of the questionnaires
was measured through a pilot study on 12 patients using the test-retest method (r=0.9). In addition, epidemiological characteristics and
pregnancy outcomes of the patients were recorded. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics in SPSS.
Results: In total, 419 records were reviewed, and 74 cases (17.6%) had NTDTM. During a 25-year marriage period, 23 pregnancies
were reported with 18 childbirths. Low birth weight was observed in three neonates (23.1%), and there was one assisted pregnancy.
In addition, one female NTDTM patient was married to a β-thalassemia carrier and had two abortions (one after prenatal diagnosis).
In this study, 24 (32.4%) and 14 (58.3%) male NTDTM patients were married, and only one case had a child. Mean age of marriage
in male NTDTM patients was 25.3±4.2 years.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, proper management of NTDTM patients will help them reach the reproductive age.
It also seems that fertility is higher among female NTDTM patients.
Keywords
Childbirth Fertility Infertility Intermedia ?-thalassemia Marriage Non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia major Pregnancy
Fulltext
Full-text is available in PDF format.