Gender Disparities in Psychological Disturbances and Quality of Life Among Adolescent and Adult Patients with Thalassemia: A Review

Pandji Irani Fianza,1 Anita Rahmawati,1 Indra Wijaya,1 Amaylia Oehadian,1 Dimmy Prasetya,1 Putri Vidyaniati,1 Gusti Fungani Harti,1 Trinugroho Heri Fadjari,1 Ramdan Panigoro2 1Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran/Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia; 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, IndonesiaCorrespondence: Pandji Irani Fianza, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran/Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Pasteur Street No. 38, Bandung, Indonesia, Tel +62-22-203-4954, Email pandji.irani.fianza@unpad.ac.idAbstract: Thalassemia is a chronic disease caused by impaired globin chain synthesis, leading to ineffective erythropoiesis, hemolysis, and chronic anemia. The treatment of patients with thalassemia, including blood transfusion combined with chelation therapy has progressed and improved their survival and prognosis. However, thalassemia-related psychological problems and impaired health-related quality of life (QoL) challenges still exist. Gender is one of the factors that has been suggested, to contribute to the disparities in psychological outcomes. This review article examined the evidence for gender differences in psychological disturbances and QoL in adolescent and adult patients with thalassemia. A non-systematic search of the literature was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar for English full-text available from 2013 to 2023. We identified 23 studies with a sample size ≥ 100 that examined gender disparities in anxiety, depression, and QoL in adolescent and adult patients with thalassemia (mean prevalence of female = 53.1%; mean age = 28 years). Our review shows that there are gender disparities in psychological distress and QoL in adolescent and adult patients with thalassemia. Statistically significant gender differences we