Comparing Hematological Indices of People with Iron Deficiency Anemia, Thalassemia Minor and Major, and Healthy People

Background: This study aimed to evaluate three hematological indices in children and adolescents with iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia minor and major and healthy people. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, ۱۶۴ patients were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and divided into four groups (n=۴۱): iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia minor, thalassemia major, and healthy people. The results obtained from the tests were recorded in the patients' checklist. Mann-Whitney test, Wilcoxon test, ROC curve and area under the curve were adopted for data analysis using SPSS Statistics V۲۱.۰. Results: The mean age of patients was ۱۳.۰۷±۳.۸۲ years, of which ۱۰۰ (۶۲.۵%) were men. There is a significant difference due to the hemoglobin concentration (Hb) index in two-by-two comparison of the groups (P<۰.۰۰۱), but this difference was not seen between iron deficiency and thalassemia minor groups (P=۰.۱۵۹). This difference was substantial (P<۰.۰۰۱) in terms of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) index, although it was only seen between the iron deficiency and thalassemia major groups (P=۰.۲۲۵). Finally, this mean difference was reported in Serum ferritin index (P<۰.۰۰۱), but no difference was observed between healthy group and thalassemia minor group (P=۰.۸۰۲). Conclusion: The results showed that there is a difference in mean Hb, MCV, and Ferritin levels between the studied groups, and the Hb and Ferritin indices are favorable for iron deficiency anemia, and the Hb and MCV indices are favorable to distinguish the thalassemia minor and major from healthy people.