Hypothyroidism in children suffering from beta thalasemia major

Aim: to determine the frequency of hypothyroidism in children suffering from beta thalasemia major. methods: a total of 75 diagnosed cases of beta thalasemia major of age between 5 to 15 years of either gender were enrolled from paediatric ward allied hospital,ali zaib foundation and sundus foundation,faisalabad during the year 2016. blood sample of 2ml was taken from children for tsh and t4 and was sent to pathology lab allied hospital faisalabad. levels of tsh and t4 were estimated by elisa kit. data was statistically analyzed to determine the frequency and percentage of hypothyroidism. results: mean age of hypothyroid patients was 10.48±2.6 years. out of these 14(28.6%) were male and 8 (30.8%) were female. hypothyroidism was seen in 22(29.3%) patients. conclusion: hypothyroidism can occur in thalasemia major patients in the absence of particular clinical signs. screening of thalasemic patients for hypothyroidism is very important for early diagnosis and timely treatment of affected children to improve quality of life.