Nelly Rosdiana

Correlation between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Lipid Profile among Children with Beta Thalassemic Major

BACKGROUND: Beta thalassemia major is associated with lipid profile abnormalities, presented as a lower level of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and higher triglyceride level; increasing risk for cardiovascular complications. The previous studies indicated that Vitamin D give a positive impact on the lipid profile in healthy children population. However, its role needs to be determined in a high-risk group of children with beta-thalassemia major. AIM: To determine the correlation between vitamin D (25-OHD) and lipid profile among children with beta-thalassemia major. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a general tertiary hospital in Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia from January to March 2018. Subjects were children aged below 18-year-old with beta-thalassemia major. The measurement of vitamin D (25-OHD) level and 10-12 hour overnight fasting serum lipid profile including total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, and LDL were performed. The analysis was done using Pearson’s correlation and Fisher test. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Forty-five subjects were enrolled in this study, with serum ferritin level ranged from 1017 to 13372 ng/mL. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (a 25-OHD level less than 20 ng/mL) in this study was 40%, with mean value at 20.6 (SD 5.3) ng/mL. The markers for cardiovascular risk were observed to be elevated, both in Atherogenic Index Plasma (0.32 ± 0.25) and TC: HDL ratio (4.2 ± 1.5). Statistical analysis revealed that Vitamin D had positive correlation with total cholesterol (r = 0.302, p = 0.044) and HDL (r = 0.297, p = 0.048). There was no significant correlation between both vitamin D and triglyceride (p = 0.305), or vitamin D and LDL (p = 0.727). CONCLUSION: Vitamin D correlated positively with total cholesterol and HDL in children with beta-thalassemia major. Positive correlation to HDL indicated a beneficial effect of vitamin D to reduce the risk of cardiovascular complication.

Growth velocity in elementary school children with iron deficiency anemia after iron therapy

Background Iron supplementation in children with iron deficiency anemia could decrease the incidence of stunting. Objective To study the effect of iron therapy on growth velocity in children with iron deficiency anemia. Methods A randomized clinical trial study was conducted at Labuhan Batu on November 2006 to May 2007. Iron deficiency anemia was diagnosed if there were anemia, with mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration 220, and Mentzer index> 13. Elementary school children (6-12 year old) with iron deficiency anemia were randomly assigned either to iron therapy group (children were given 6 mg iron/kg/day) or to placebo group for 3 months. Results Among 300 children recruited, there were 125 children, who suffered from iron deficiency anemia. After one month of iron therapy, means of hemoglobin concentration were 12.4 g/dl in iron group and 11.7 g/dl in placebo group. There was a significant increase of height in iron group (129.9 (SD 7.58) em vs. 132.2 (SD 7.23) em) and in placebo (130.8 (SD 8.78) em vs. 128.7 (SD 8. 79) em), However, no significant difference was found in the mean of growth velocity between placebo and iron groups (2.1 (SD 0.01) em vs. 2.0 (SD 0.9) em. Conclusion There is a significant increase in height, but no significant difference between both groups in growth velocity.