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Association between Serum Vitamin D Level and Echocardiographic Abnormalities in Patients with Thalassemia Major
Mehdi Pishgahi1, Mahtab Niroomand2, Rama Bozorgmehr3
1Department of Cardiology, Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Vitamin D deficiency in thalassemia major patients is linked to systolic cardiac dysfunction but not diastolic dysfunction. This suggests biochemical abnormalities may contribute to cardiac issues in thalassemia major.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Hematology
Background:
- Thalassemia major (TM) is a common blood disorder with high cardiovascular mortality.
- Vitamin D deficiency is implicated in cardiac abnormalities, particularly in chronic diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and tissue Doppler echocardiographic indices in TM patients.
- To determine if vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiac dysfunction in TM.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 81 TM patients (mean age 27.5 years).
- Measurement of serum vitamin D and other biochemical parameters.
- Tissue Doppler echocardiography to assess systolic and diastolic indices.
Main Results:
- Serum vitamin D levels correlated with systolic indices like ejection fraction (EF) and TDI-lateral.
- No significant correlations found between vitamin D deficiency and diastolic indices or other cardiac parameters.
- No linear correlations observed between serum vitamin D and albumin, ALP, T4, or TSH levels.
Conclusions:
- Vitamin D deficiency in TM patients is associated with systolic cardiac dysfunction.
- Diastolic dysfunction does not appear to be directly linked to vitamin D deficiency in this cohort.
- Biochemical abnormalities may underlie the observed cardiac dysfunction in TM.
Objectives:
Thalassemia major (TM) is one of the most common blood disorders with a high mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D deficiency has been suggested to implicate in cardiac abnormalities. In this prospective study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between serum levels of vitamin D and tissue Doppler (TD) echocardiographic indices in thalassemia major patients.
Methods:
A total of 81 TM patients, including 56 females and 25 males, with a mean age of 27.5± 6.8 years, were enrolled consecutively. Serum levels of vitamin D and other biomedical parameters were measured. Then, all patients were subjected to TD echocardiography. Correlations between the serum parameters and systolic and diastolic indices were examined.
Results:
The serum level of vitamin D was correlated with systolic and diastolic indices such as the EF (r= 0.33, P= 0.003) and TD Imaging (TDI)-lateral (r= 0.31, P= 0.005). However, no correlations were observed between vitamin D deficiency and the LV septal and posterior wall thickness, TDIseptal, tricuspid regurgitation peak gradient (TRPG), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), deceleration time (DT), and propagation velocity (PVcm/s) indices. The results revealed also no linear correlations between serum vitamin D and albumin (r= -0.17, P= 0.06), ALP (r= -0.12, P= 0.14), T4 (r= -0.11, P= 0.16), as well as TSH (r= -0.10, P= 0.19).
Conclusion:
It seems that vitamin D deficiency in patients with TM is associated with systolic but not diastolic dysfunctions, possibly as consequences of related biochemical abnormalities.
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