BONE MINERALS IN BETA-THALASSEMIA MINOR

Homozygous beta-thalassemia is a severe hereditary disorder associated with osteopenia, Recently it was suggested that thalassemia minor may be a risk factor for osteoporosis, The purpose of the present study w as to investigate this suggestion, Bone mineral status was assessed in 22 premenopausal women and 21 men with beta-thalassemia minor, In viv o neutron activation analysis was applied to measure hand-bone phospho rus (HBP), single-photon absorptiometry to measure forearm bone minera l content (BMC), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure spina l bone mineral density (BMD), Comparison of the HBP, BMC, and BMD valu es with those of sex- and age-matched healthy subjects without the bet a-thalassemia trait failed to indicate a statistically significant dif ference for either sex group, Concerning the biochemical markers of bo ne metabolism that were studied (serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline ph osphatase, osteocalcin, and parathyroid hormone, and 3-h fasting urine calcium-to-urine creatinine ratio) no difference was observed between the study subjects and matched controls, In conclusion, the present s tudy showed that subjects with beta-thalassemia minor are not at risk for osteoporosis.