G535 Evaluation of mental health among thalassemia patients and their siblings using pediatric symptom checklist (psc-17) questionnaire

Aims Thalassemia patients have significant ongoing medical needs which may have a significant impact on their mental health. We evaluated the mental health of these patients by a well validated mental health screening tool. We also screened the siblings of the patients as we surmised that they might also be affected by their siblings’ ill health and possible reduced parental attention. The sibling group, with similar familial and social circumstances, served as the control group in our study. Methods Thalassemia patients in a Haemoglobinopathy Clinic were screened over a 2 month period using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17), a validated screening tool. Siblings who accompanied the patients were similarly screened during the clinic visits. Responses were tabulated and the patients and their siblings’ mental health was compared. Results A total of 46 thalassemia patients (26 males and 20 females) between the ages of 1 to 14 years and 92 siblings (54 males and 38 females) of a similar age group were screened during the study. Among the patients 43% (20) patients screened positive for internalising (anxiety or mood) disorders and among these patients a further 15% (7) screened positive for externalising (conduct, oppositional defiant, adjustment or mixed disturbed mood or conduct) disorders. On subgroup analysis, none of the patients under 6 years were screened positive and but mental health issues were noted in 83% of patients over 6 years. Among the siblings, 92% (85) had no mental heath issues and only 7.6% (7) siblings were screened positive for externalising disorders. There were no age differences in this group and positively screened cases were evenly distributed across all age groups. Conclusion Our study showed that a majority of thalassemia patients over the age of 6 years have significant mental health issues and would benefit from formal testing and access to mental health services in order to cope with their illness. In contrast, contrary to our original hypothesis, siblings of patients did not seem to suffer from significant mental health issues. However, the sibling group did help to serve as a comparable control group for our patients and made our findings more significant and relevant.