Impact of Muscle Strength Loss and Chronic Anaemia on Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Purpose: Thalassemias negatively impact health-related quality of life (HQoL) due to chronic anaemia and complications from regular transfusions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of muscle strength loss and chronic anaemia on QoL in patients with transfusion-dependent thalassaemia (TDT) via the Short Form-36 (SF-36) health survey. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 110 participants. Muscle strength was assessed via a digital handgrip dynamometer. HQoL was evaluated through the SF-36 survey, which includes physical and mental health subdomains. Correlations between dominant arm strength and SF-36 subdomain scores were analysed. Results: Compared with control patients, TDT patients presented significantly lower dominant arm muscle strength (p < 0.001). Ferritin levels were elevated (p < 0.001), and haemoglobin levels were reduced (p < 0.001), indicating iron overload and chronic anaemia. The physical functioning (p < 0.001) and physical role difficulty (p = 0.002) scores were significantly lower in the TDT group. Muscle strength, including physical functioning (p = 0.005, r = 0.402), vitality (p = 0.009, r = 0.379), and mental health (p = 0.016, r = 0.349), was positively correlated with the SF-36 subdomain. No significant correlations were found for emotional or physical role difficulties. Conclusion: Loss of muscle strength significantly impairs HQoL in patients with TDT. These findings underscore the need for integrated treatment strategies targeting both physical and psychosocial health. Interventions such as iron chelation therapy and physical rehabilitation programs are critical to address chronic anaemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation, ultimately enhancing overall well-being in TDT patients.