Association between selected immune parameters and thalassemia: An analytical study

Existing genetic blood disorders are referred to as hereditary anemia. Such disease is especially high in the Mediterranean area. In Iraq, the prevalence of carriers was estimated between 4.5% -5% of the general population. The disease can be clinically presented by mild anemia up to severe manifestations that need transfusion and its complications can usually affect many different organ systems. During the past few years, focus was diverted to the cytokines and electrolyte status as potential disease severity markers. ELISA was used to identify serum cytokines. The analysis of serum sodium, chloride and potassium was performed using the colorimetric technique. The study included two categories, 50 patients (37.96 years) and 40 controls (40.475 years). The results revealed that thalassemia patients possessed significantly higher serum levels of all studied immunological markers (IL-40, TNF-α, and MCP-1) when compared to the control group (p<0.05). Serum sodium, potassium and chloride levels were also significantly different between the two groups, but serum potassium was not so significant (p<0.05). While there were no significant connections between IL-40 and MCP-1 or IL-40 and TNF-α, there was a significant positive association between MCP-1 and TNF-α. However, there was no significant link between potassium and chloride or between sodium and potassium. The Pearson's correlation analysis also showed a substantial positive association between levels of sodium and chloride. In conclusion, this study showed that thalassemia patients exhibit elevated levels of key immune parameters (IL-40, TNF-α, MCP-1) alongside significant changes in certain electrolyte concentrations, particularly sodium and chloride.