Cognitive Function in Adults with Beta-Thalassemia Major in Oman: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Hematology
• Psychology

Background:

• Beta-thalassemia major (TM) is a genetic blood disorder affecting red blood cell production.
• Neurocognitive dysfunction is documented in pediatric TM populations.
• Limited research exists on neuropsychological functioning in adult TM patients, particularly in the Arabian Peninsula.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess neuropsychological functioning in Omani adults with TM.
• To identify factors associated with neuropsychological performance in this cohort.

Main Methods:

• Employed standard neuropsychological tests to evaluate attention, memory, verbal fluency, and executive functions.
• Assessed intellectual ability and affective range.
• Utilized age- and sex-matched healthy controls due to scarce Omani normative data.
• Applied log-linear modeling to analyze demographic and neuropsychological associations.

Main Results:

• Recruited 28 adult TM patients and 39 healthy controls.
• TM diagnosis was significantly linked to depression (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001).
• Impairments observed in executive functioning (verbal fluency, p = 0.003), working memory (digit span, p < 0.001), and verbal/auditory attention (California Verbal Learning, p = 0.002).

Conclusions:

• Adults with TM exhibit potential impairments in short-term memory, verbal fluency, and verbal/auditory attention compared to controls.
• Larger cohort studies are recommended to validate these findings.