Nutrition in Thalassemia: A Systematic Review of Deficiency, Relations to Morbidity, and Supplementation Recommendations.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to summarize observed relationships between nutrition (including iron overload) and morbidity in patients with thalassemia over the last three decades.
Results Summary
The study found that iron overload was positively correlated with nutritional deficiencies, particularly vitamins A, C, D, selenium, and zinc, in thalassemia patients. It also highlighted the role of vitamin D and zinc in improving bone health and glucose metabolism.
Population
Patients with thalassemia
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- | decrease | vitamins A, C, D, selenium, and zinc | Patients with Thal | - | were most often deficient | #1 |
- | increase | Prevalence of nutritional deficiency | - | - | was positively correlated | #2 |
vitamin D | increase | bone health | - | - | Evidence to support the role | #3 |
zinc | increase | bone health | - | - | Evidence to support the role | #4 |
zinc | increase | glucose metabolism | - | - | was also found to improve | #5 |
BACKGROUND: Reports of nutritional deficiencies in patients with thalassemia (Thal) are common. Despite its importance, however, nutritionally focused research in Thal has been limited by inadequate sample size, inconsistent methodology, a lack of control comparisons, and few interventional trials. Due to these limitations, clinicians lack evidence-based nutrition recommendations to support clinical decision-making. This systematic review summarizes observed relationships between nutrition and morbidity in Thal published in the last 3 decades. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase were screened for articles pertaining to nutrition in Thal using comprehensive search terms. Studies performed in humans, written in English, and published between 1990 and 2020 were included. Over 2100 manuscripts were identified, from which 97 were included. RESULTS: Patients with Thal were most often deficient in vitamins A, C, D, selenium, and zinc. Prevalence of nutritional deficiency was positively correlated with age and iron overload. Evidence to support the role of vitamin D and zinc for bone health was observed; zinc was also found to improve glucose metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the risk for multinutrient deficiency, nutritional status should be assessed annually in patients with Thal with prompt nutrient replacement when deficiency is detected. Routine supplementation with vitamin D and zinc is recommended.