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An association of aplastic anaemia in Thailand with low socioeconomic status |
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| Authors: | Surapol Issaragrisil David W. Kaufman Theresa E. Anderson Kanchana Chansung Tharatorn Thamprasit Jittima Sirijirachai Anong Piankijagum Yaowarat Porapakham Sathit Vannasaeng Paul E. Leaverton Samuel Shapiro Neal S. Young |
| Affiliation: | Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand;Slone Epidemiology Unit, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.;Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khonkaen University, Khonkaen, Thailand;Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkla, Thailand;Asian Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand;Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, U.S.A.;Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A. |
| Abstract: | summary. The relationship of socioeconomic status to the risk of aplastic anaemia was evaluated in a case-control study conducted in Bangkok and two rural regions of Thailand (Khonkaen and Songkla). Among 152 cases and 921 controls there were significant trends of increasing risk with decreasing years of education (P = O01) and total household income (P = 0–0001), after control for confounding. The relative risk estimate for those with monthly incomes of >1500 baht (about 60 U.S.) was 3–9 (95% confidence interval 2–1–7–3) compared to those with monthly incomes of at least 5000 baht (about 200). The pattern of increasing risk with decreasing income was observed in all three regions, with significant trends in Bangkok (P= 0–004) and Khonkaen (P = 0–003). This finding may partly explain the high incidence of aplastic anaemia in Thailand. Low socioeconomic status may be a surrogate for one or more environmental factors that could cause aplastic anaemia, such as infectious pathogens or toxic exposures. |
| Keywords: | aplastic anaemia aetiology socioeconomic status epidemiology Thailand |