Abnormal Glucose Tolerance in Transfusion-Dependent Beta- Thalassemic Patients

OBJECTIVE- To study the prevalence of and risk factors for abnormal glucose tolerance in transfusion-dependent beta- thalassemic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS- A total of 89 transfusion-dependent beta- thalassemic patients were interviewed. Diabetes was previously diagnosed in 14 of them . In the remaining 75 patients, 68 participated in an oral glucose tolerance test. Potential risk factors were identified using the independent t test, X2 test, and Fisher 's exact test. Logistic regression analysis was used to select the independent risk factors that best predicted abnormal glucose tolerance. A two-tailed P value of