Role of blood hepcidin alteration as a biomarker in β-thalassemia patients’ diagnosis

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the change in hepcidin levels and other biochemical markers, including total iron binding capacity (TIBC), serum iron, testosterone, and specific vitamins in the blood of individuals with β-Thalassemia. Here, 140 participants were involved in the study, of whom 110 were affected by β-thalassemia and 30 were healthy. The samples were obtained from Baqubah Teaching Hospital, the blood bank and blood donation center. The study was carried out from May 2022 to August 2022, and the patients were housed in Diyala Provence, Baquba City and its suburbs. The participants in this investigation were split into three groups: A: 55 male patients with β-thalassemia; B: 55 female patients with β-thalassemia; and C: 30 healthy individuals that were set as a control group. The findings of the study showed that the levels of HbA1 in males and females were 93.44 ± 0.71 and 93.53 ± 0.91, respectively, while the levels of HbA2 in males and females were 4.99 ± 0.59 and 5.29 ± 0.72, respectively. In contrast, the control group had HbA1 levels of 97.33 ± 0.40 in males and 97.66 ± 0.46 in females, but HbA2 levels were 2.32 ± 0.33 in males and 2.24 ± 0.24 in females. The study revealed remarkable differences (P < 0.05) between these variables. Hematological measures, such as hemoglobin concentration and percentages of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), packed cell volume (PCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were substantially reduced (P < 0.05) in β-thalassemia patients when compared to the controls. Serum iron and TIBC were significantly increased (P < 0.05), while Hepcidin levels were markedly decreased (P < 0.05) in the serum of β-thalassemia patients compared to controls. Therefore, as a conclusion the reduction of hepcidin levels and increase in iron levels are correlated with β-thalassemia and can be used as a biomarkers in monitoring β-thalassemia disease.