Association between Glomerular Filtration Rate and β-Thalassemia Major: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Thalassemia is one of the most prevalent genetic disorders worldwide and has previously been found to have an association with several physiological and organ complications. Several studies have found both its positive and inverse correlation with the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Therefore, in this meta-analysis, we tried to assess the accurate correlation of β-thalassemia major (β-TM) with GFR. We searched in Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect, and from the initial 96 articles, we finally included 12 studies. The quality and publication bias assessment confirmed that all the studies were of high to moderate quality with no publication bias. The main outcome of the mean difference (MD) was −6.94, 95%CI: −20.69, 6.80 (p p < 0.00001), which provides even stronger support for our main outcome. Our result determined that the GFR is generally higher in healthy people as compared to β-TM patients.

Keywords

• glomerular
• GFR
• kidney
• thalassemia
• anemia
• hemoglobin