Secondary Amenorrhea in Homozygous b-Thalassaemia. A Growing Problem

Patients with homozygous β-thalassaemia develop complications in many vital organs. The increase in life expectancy of these patients has provided the opportunity to come across many of these problems, which were non-existent prior to 1980. The most frequently encountered complication is that of the hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, and more specifically, that of secondary amenorrhea. In this study, we will present older as well as more contemporary views of the pathophysiology of secondary amenorrhea, knowledge of that contributes to more timely and complete treatment of secondary amenorrhea, which results to increased duration of menstrual periods in women with homozygous β-thalassaemia during the fertile age.

Keywords: Secondary amenorrhea, B-thalassaemia