Severity of heart failure and health-related quality of life in beta-thalassemia patients: a cross-sectional study

Cardiovascular complications account for a substantial increase in morbidity and mortality in beta-thalassemia patients. Many patients have structural heart disease, and some of them present with symptomatic heart failure (HF). Quality of life (QOL) of beta-thalassemia patients is lower than that of the general population. The aim of our study was to explore the relationship between HF stages and QOL in beta-thalassemia patients. Seventy-three consecutive adult beta-thalassemia patients took part in this cross-sectional study. Stages of HF, classified with increasing severity as A, B, and C, were determined based on ACC/AHA guidelines. QOL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. Fifteen patients had stage C HF, twenty-eight had stage B HF, and the remaining were considered stage A patients, as beta thalassemia is a predisposing factor for HF. All QOL domains except for bodily pain were significantly lower in stage C patients than in stage A patients. Stage C patients had significantly lower QOL scores for physical functioning, role physical, and social functioning domains than stage B patients. Stage B patients' QOL differed from stage A patients only in the vitality domain. In the multiple regression analysis which took several demographic and clinical factors into account, stage of HF was the most important factor associated with QOL, and negatively and significantly related to five QOL domains, namely physical functioning, role physical, general health, social functioning, and vitality. In conclusion, QOL is negatively affected by the severity of heart failure in beta-thalassemia patients.