Physical growth of children with sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease is one of the commonest single gene disorders in man and has a widespread distribution in different parts of the world with variable clinical manifestations. An important clinical issue requiring further clarification is the effect of this abnormal hemoglobin on the physical growth and development of children with sickle cell disease. Earlier reports have shown that American Black children with sickle cell Anthropometric measurements were used to study the physical growth of 58 sickle cell disease(SS) children with severe clinical manifestations and compared with 86 normal(AA) children from Nagpur district of Maharashtra. Both sickle cell disease male and female children were shown to have statistically significant lower weights, heights, sitting heights, mid arm circumferences, skin fold thickness and body mass indexes but not upper/ lower segment ratio as compared to normal children with comparable sex and ages. No significant differences were observed between the male and female children with sickle cell disease or normal for any of the anthropometric measurements. A significant lower values of all the measurements except U/ L ratio was observed in the age group of 11-14 years than the earlier age among the sickle cell disease children as compared to the normal children of the same age and sex groups. Thus, these results indicate that as a group, children with sickle cell disease weigh less, are shorter and undernourished as compared to normal children.