Prospective case–control study on prevalence of anxiety disorders in chronically transfused hemophilia patients of age group 8–15 years and their parents

Abstract

Background: Hemophilia is a hemoglobinopathy with significant impact on mental health of the patients as well as their families. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives are to assess the prevalence of anxiety disorders in chronically transfused hemophilia patients and their parents. Materials and Methods: 100 dyads of hemophilia patients of age group 8–15 years who are on regular transfusion of clotting factors and their parents were compared with 100 age and sex-matched controls who are pediatric patients from the outpatient department or ward but not suffering from hemophilia or any other chronic disorder. Pre-validated Hamilton Anxiety Score was used to evaluate anxiety level among the participants. Results: Participants suffering from hemophilia had anxiety prevalence of 32% while among the controls, anxiety prevalence of 16% was observed. Among parents of adolescents suffering from hemophilia, 45% showed anxiety as compared to 24% prevalence in the parents of control group. It was observed that anxiety was significantly more in elderly patients and in those patients who had lesser gap in transfusion of clotting factors. Conclusion: Hemophilia patients as well as their parents are at risk of developing anxiety disorders more than the normal counterparts. Therefore, identification followed by treatment at earlier stages warrants better prognosis of the patient.