Regression analysis in patients with thallasemia induced osteoporosis

Introduction: Thalassemia Major (TM) is a hereditary disease caused by defective globin synthesis. Although, it is considered a disease which is well understood both from the clinical as well as the biological aspect, it is a complex phenomenon and still remains under thorough investigation. One of the recent findings, include the fact the due to the significant increase in life expectancy, TM patients suffer from various secondary health conditions, including endocrinopathies and low bone mineral density. Aim: The aim of the present study was to analyze biochemical factors, collected from TM patients, with the application of regression analysis in order to find probable causative relations for TM-induced osteoporosis. Methods: Sixty-four patients with TM (32 men and 32 women) participated in a cross-sectional study design. The patients were recruited from “Aghia Sofia” Children’s Hospital and evaluated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the lumbar spine and femoral neck and with markers of bone remodeling including receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), and sclerostin. Results: Regression analysis, manifested significant relations in TM patients with respect to calcium, phosphorus, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and DXA. Conclusions: In TM patients, several factors appeared to be linearly correlated, which indicates that these factors play an important role in TM-induced osteoporosis.