Evaluation of Cadmium and Calcium Levels in Blood Serum Samples of Beta-Thalassemia Patients

Abstract

Weekly blood transfusions of beta-thalassemia patients lead to the accumulation of Iron; there are many studies about iron levels in blood beta-thalassemia patients, as well as other heavy metal levels. Few studies have examined the relationship between the a;mounts of heavy element Levels and β-thalassemia incidence. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of Cadmium and Calcium Levels in beta-thalassemia patients and compare them with healthy control groups. The study involved 37 blood serum samples of Beta-thalassemia patients and 25 blood serum samples of the healthy control group. parameters included: sex, age, smoking status, and census. The blood Cadmium and Calcium levels were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The results showed that the mean blood Cadmium level in beta-thalassemia patients is significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.05). Moreover, the mean blood Calcium level in beta-thalassemia patients is significantly lower than that of the control group. A statistically negative correlation between Cadmium and Calcium Levels was found in the beta-thalassemia patients (r = –1.00, p<0.05). This study revealed that Calcium deficiency is associated with higher blood Cadmium levels. In addition, there is no effect of age on Beta-Thalassemia, but there is a significant effect of smoking (p<0.05).The statistical comparison between the Cadmium and Calcium Levels of the patient and control groups was determined by the SPSS test with an Independent-Sample T-test. The Spearman correlation test was also used to determine the correlation between measured Cadmium and Calcium Levels for both groups.