Vitamin D Deficiency among Blood Transfusion Dependent Beta Thalassemia Children Admitted to Tertiary Level Pediatric Hospital in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Children with beta thalassemia are on regular blood transfusions, which could result in iron deposition in the liver causing decreased synthesis of Vitamin D-25OH. There are limited publications on the association of Vitamin D deficiency with blood transfusion-dependent thalassemia in the Nepalese population. This study aims to determine the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among blood transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among beta-thalassemia major patients under 15 years of age, receiving regular blood transfusion, from July 17, 2022, to July 16, 2023, after attaining ethical approval from Ethical Review Committee, (reference number 155). Data were collected using convenience sampling, and descriptive analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 2024. Results: A total of 127 blood transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major patients were included in the study, of whom 82 (64.56%) were female. Among these patients, 104 (81.88%) were aged between 5 and 14 year. Among 127, 41 (32.28%) had Vitamin D insufficiency, and 31 (24.40%) had Vitamin D deficiency. There were 12 (9.44%) underweight children. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was seen in more than half of the children with blood transfusion dependent beta thalassemia major.