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Evaluation of bone mineral density in patients with hemoglobin H disease

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Abstract

Objectives

This study was conducted to assess bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of patients with hemoglobin H (HbH) disease.

Methods

BMD and BMC were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar spines and femur neck in 21 patients with Hb H disease over the age of 10 years.

An association of BMD with sex, age, hemoglobin, calcium, phosphorus, and serum ferritin level was also evaluated.

Results

Prevalence of BMD below the expected range for age in the lumbar spine and femur neck region in patients with HbH disease were 33.3 and 14.3 %, respectively. Lumbar BMD was significantly lower in the patients compared to healthy individuals (median (min-max) 0.725 (0.595–0.924) vs. 1.061 (0.645–1.238), P < 0.001)). There was no significant relationship between BMD in the lumbar and femur neck with any of the evaluated variables (P value >0.05).

Conclusion

Data regarding bone density in HbH disease is limited; osteoporosis as a common complication of β-thalassemia intermedia syndrome should be considered even in HbH which shows its prevalence is less than β-thalassemia intermedia.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by The Shiraz University of Medical Sciences with grant number 93-01-32-8943. Also, I would like to thank Forough Saki for cooperating in the data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hematology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran

    Tahereh Zarei, Sezaneh Haghpanah, Shirin Parand & Mehran Karimi

  2. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran

    Hossein Moravej

  3. Endocrine and Metabolism Research Center, Nemazee Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, IR Iran

    Mohammad Hossein Dabbaghmanesh & Gholamhossein Ranjbar Omrani

Authors
  1. Tahereh Zarei
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  2. Sezaneh Haghpanah
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  3. Shirin Parand
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  4. Hossein Moravej
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  5. Mohammad Hossein Dabbaghmanesh
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  6. Gholamhossein Ranjbar Omrani
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  7. Mehran Karimi
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Correspondence to Mehran Karimi.

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Zarei, T., Haghpanah, S., Parand, S. et al. Evaluation of bone mineral density in patients with hemoglobin H disease. Ann Hematol 95, 1329–1332 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2708-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2708-9

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