Oral manifestations and blood profile inpatients with thalassemia trait

Background/Purpose: Patients with thalassemia trait (TT) may have anemia. This study evaluated whether TT patients had specific oral manifestations and a particular blood profile compared with normal individuals. Methods: The oral manifestations and mean red blood cell count, corpuscular cell volume, red blood cell distribution width, Mentzer index, and Green and King index as well as blood concentrations of hemoglobin, iron, total iron binding capacity, vitamin B12, folic acid, and homocysteine in 65 TT patients and in 130 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were measured and compared. Results: TT patients had significantly higher frequencies of all oral manifestations than healthy controls (p<0.001 for all), in which burning sensation of oral mucosa (90.8%), lingual varicosity (90.8%), dry mouth (72.3%), atrophic glossitis (32.3%), and numbness of the oral mucosa (30.8%) were the five leading oral manifestations for TT patients. Moreover, TT patients had significantly lower mean hemoglobin level, corpuscular cell volume, Mentzer index, and Green and King index (p<0.001 for all) as well as significantly higher mean red blood cell count and red blood cell distribution width (p<0.001 for both) than healthy controls. However, no significant difference in the mean blood iron, total iron binding capacity, vitamin B12, folic acid, or homocysteine levels was discovered between 65 TT patients and 130 healthy controls. Conclusion: TT patients have specific oral manifestations and a particular blood profile compared to normal individuals.