Forty-nine and 52 eligible patients were assessed in 2001 and 2009, respectively. A total of 43 patients were assessed in both 2001 and 2009. Almost 40% of these 43 patients received deferasirox in 2009, a drug which was not available in 2001. The distribution of ferritin levels was lower in 2009 (median 730) as compared with 2001 (median 1107). Analysis of the raw differences between the two years did not show a significant difference. An improvement was observed in most SF-36 scales in 2009 as compared with 2001, particularly in the Mental Health scale (mean difference in Z score +4.0; 95% confidence interval 0.4-7.5; P = 0.030) and in the Mental Component Summary scale (mean difference in Z score +3.2; 95% confidence interval 0.2-6.2; P = 0.039).