Children with Sickle Cell Disease More Likely to Have Physical and Developmental Health Problems
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The first national estimate on the health status of children with sickle cell disease revealed that black children with sickle cell disease are more likely to have intellectual disabilities, hearing deficits, and frequent severe headaches or migraines than black children without sickle cell disease. The study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), “Health Status and Healthcare Use in a National Sample of Children with Sickle Cell Disease, was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The study found that black children with sickle cell disease are four
times more likely to have fair or poor health status, twice as likely to
have recently visited a mental health professional and have received
special educational or early intervention services more often compared
with black children without sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell disease is a group of red blood cell disorders that is
inherited, passed from parents to children. In sickle cell disease, the
red blood cells become hard and sticky, and take on a sickle shape. When
the C-shaped cells travel through small blood vessels, they clog the
vessels and can block blood flow. In addition, the sickled cells die
earlier than normal blood cells, which creates a constant shortage of
red blood cells.
“In the United States, sickle cell disease is one of the most common
genetic disorders; more than 20 percent of children with SCD had
recently visited a health care provider such as an optometrist or an
ophthalmologist, and had more than one visit to the emergency department
in the past year,” said Sheree Boulet, DrPH, with CDC’s Division of
Blood Disorders. “The findings of this study emphasize the importance of
screening children with sickle cell disease for thinking ability,
hearing, and vision problems.”
Further, although black children with sickle cell disease had more
visits to doctors’ offices, medical specialists, and emergency rooms
than their counterparts without sickle cell disease, their parents
reported more problems accessing available health care services.
“This study gives a better insight into the types of disabilities
children with sickle cell disease have and can help health care
providers plan comprehensive treatments for children with the disease,”
said Dr. Boulet.
The study analyzed data from the 1997-2005 National Health Interview
Surveys (NHIS) to describe health status and health services use among
black children 0-17 years of age with SCD. The NHIS has monitored the
health of the nation since 1957; it is the principal source of
information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population of the United States and is one of the major data collection
programs of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) which is
part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NHIS data
on a broad range of health topics are collected through personal
household interviews.
For more information about CDC’s work in blood disorders, please visit
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/blooddisorders/index.html.
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