SummaryAn increased level of plasma thrombomodulin (TM) in α- and β- thalassaemia was demonstrated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Nonsplenectomized patients with β-thalassaemia/ haemoglobin E (BE) had higher levels of TM than splenectomized cases (BE-S). Patients with leg ulcers (BE-LU) were found to have the highest increase in TM level. Appearance of larger platelets in all types of thalassaemic blood was observed indicating an increase in the number of younger platelets. These data indicate that injury of vascular endothelial cells is present in thalassaemic patients.

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The association of nutrition status of children aged 7-12 years (n=663) with socioeconomic factors in a province of southern Thailand in 1995 was investigated. Three type of schools were surveyed: a school with a higher educational standard (elite school) in the municipality of the province, a school with many children from low-income families (low-income school) in the same municipality, and five ordinary schools in rural areas of the province (district schools). The proportions of obese children were 22.1%, 5.8% and 2.7%, respectively for the three type of schools, when obesity was defined as weight to height of over 120% of the median of children in Bangkok. The risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals for obesity in the dite and the low-income schools were 5.0 (3.5-7.2) and 1.9 (0.8-4.8), respectively, taking the district schools as a reference. Our research suggested that the high prevalence of obesity among elite-school children could be related to the comparatively high socioeconomic status of the children's families. It also shows that the children in the province studied were as a whole considerably leaner than children in the big cities of Thailand. These results imply a need for appropriate interventions which cannot only prevent obesity, but also improve the malnutrition of school children in the rural provinces of southern Thailand.