Knowledge and Attitudes towards Thalassemia among Public University Students in Bangladesh

Md. Jubayer Hossain ², Syeda Tasneem Towhid ^1,2, Sabia Sultana  ^1,2, Sumaiya Akter Mukta ², Rubaiya Gulshan ², Md. Sharif Miah ²

Prevention of Thalassemia with awareness

Abstract

Background: Thalassemia is the most common congenital single-gene condition globally, characterized by a lack of or reduced synthesis of either the α- or β-globin chains and passed down from parents to offspring. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge of thalassemia among Bangladeshi students from universities and their opinion on prevention. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive online survey was conducted on public university students in Bangladesh using a structured questionnaire between June and November 2020, completed by students online. Demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitude of the participants were assayed with 10 questions on each topic. The data were analyzed using Python. Descriptive statistics methods such as frequencies and percentages were used to present data. Result: A total of 681 students participated in the online survey. The average age of the respondents in this study was 21.97 years, with a standard deviation of 2.9. Most of the students, 611(89.72%), had heard about Thalassemia, yet only 248 (36.42%) students had good knowledge of Thalassemia. The knowledge level of students had no significant relationship with sex (p-value = 0.0819), marital status (p-value = 0.2281), and year of study (p-value = 0.4619), but had a considerable difference with the field of study (0.0042). However, 478 (78.36%) participants showed a positive attitude toward "Premarital Screening" to prevent Thalassemia. Conclusions: Long-term and target-based preventive initiatives are recommended for university students and the general population of Bangladesh, where the rate of consanguineous marriage is high. These initiatives would provide crucial information and increase awareness of premarital screening and genetic counseling to prevent thalassemia.

Keywords: Thalassemia, Awareness, Student community, Bangladesh.

References

Akter, K., Khatun, S., & Hossain, M. S. (2020). Lived Experience of Thalassaemic Children in Bangladesh. Open Journal of Nursing, 10(11), 1109–1125. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojn.2020.1011079

Alam, N.-E.-, Islam, S., Suries, U., Binti, R., Islam, M., Akter, S., Aktar, S., Nahid, M., Alharbi, S., Ali, S., NASIF, O., Chowdhury, K., Sardar, D., Batiha, G., Khatun, M., Islam, N., & Mohiuddin, K. M. (2020). Public Perceptions and Attitudes of Bangladeshi Population towards Thalassemia Prevention?: A Nationwide Study. Research Squre, 1–16.

Alam N.E., Islam M.S., Khabir M.I.U., Sureia U., Islam M.M., Mohiuddin R.B., et al. (2022). The scenario of knowledge, attitude and practice of Bangladeshi population towards thalassemia prevention: a nationwide study. PLOS Global Public Health. 2(10):e0001177

Ebrahim, S., Raza, A. Z., Hussain, M., Khan, A., Kumari, L., Rasheed, R., Mahmood, S., Khatri, M. A., Bijoora, M., Zaheer, R., Sattar, N., Sohail, W., Zakir, H., Jafry, F. H., Memon, A., Anwer, S., & Fatima, K. (2019). Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Thalassemia in an Urban Population. Cureus, 11(7), 5–10. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5268

Hashim, S., Inam, A. L. I., Jamil, H., Klair, N., Nayyar, A., Sheikh, N., & Arif, A. (2021). Awareness and Acceptance of Premarital Carrier Screening of Thalassemia among Adults Awareness and Acceptance of Premarital Carrier Screening of Thalassemia among Adults. April, 2–5.

Hossain, M. S., Raheem, E., Sultana, T. A., Ferdous, S., Nahar, N., Islam, S., Arifuzzaman, M., Razzaque, M. A., Alam, R., Aziz, S., Khatun, H., Rahim, A., & Morshed, M. (2017a). Thalassemias in South Asia: clinical lessons learnt from Bangladesh. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-017-0643-z

Hossain, M.S., Hasan, M.M., Raheem, E., Islam, M.S., Mosabbir, A.A., Petrou, M., et al. (2020). Lack of knowledge and misconceptions about Thalassemia among college students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 15:54

Hossain, M. S., Raheem, E., Sultana, T. A., Ferdous, S., Nahar, N., Islam, S., Arifuzzaman, M., Razzaque, M. A., Alam, R., Aziz, S., Khatun, H., Rahim, A., & Morshed, M. (2017). Thalassemias in South Asia: clinical le. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/S13023-017-0643-Z

Ishfaq, K. (2016). The Knowledge of Parents Having Thalassemia Child. Isra Medical Journal, 8(June), 79–83.

Ishfaq, K. (2017). Assessing Parental Knowledge about Thalassemia. January.

Ishfaq, K., Naeem, S. Bin, Ali, J., Ahmad, T., & Zainab, S. (2016). Assessing parental knowledge about thalassemia. Pakistan Paediatric Journal, 40(4), 232–236.

Karachi, S. (2017). Frequency and Awareness of Thalassemia in Families with Cousin Marriages?: A Frequency and Awareness of Thalassemia in Families with Cousin Marriages?: A Study from Karachi , Pakistan. November 2018. https://doi.org/10.9734/BJMMR/2017/32710

Kolnagou, A., & Kontoghiorghes, G. J. (2009). Advances in the prevention and treatment are changing thalassemia from a fatal to a chronic disease. Experience from a cyprus model and its use as a paradigm for future applications. Hemoglobin, 33(5), 287–295. https://doi.org/10.3109/03630260903212043

Miri-moghaddam, E., Motaharitabar, E., Erfannia, L., & Dashipour, A. (2021). High School Knowledge and Attitudes towards Thalassemia in Southeastern Iran. 8(1), 24–30.

Miri-Moghaddam, E., Motaharitabar, E., Erfannia, L., Dashipour, A., & Houshvar, M. (2014). High school knowledge and attitudes towards Thalassemia in southeastern Iran. International Journal of Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Research, 8(1), 24–30.

Pervin, S., Sultana, H., Ahmed, T., Haque, A., Abbas, M.G., Hasan, M.M., et al. (2021). Knowledge and awareness regarding premarital screening of β-Thalassemia among undergraduate students in Bangladesh. J Current Med Res Opine, 4(1):2589-93

Thalassaemia: The present and future for Bangladesh | Daily Star. (n.d.).

Uddin, M., Ul-Haq, F., Sarfaraz, A., Khan, M., Nazim, A., Maqsood, B., Sajid, S., Nasir, N., Kamran, G., Ahmed, A., Tanweer, I., Noor, B., Akhlaq, F., & Ishrat, M. (2017). Frequency and Awareness of Thalassemia in Families with Cousin Marriages: A Study from Karachi, Pakistan. British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, 21(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.9734/bjmmr/2017/32710