What is Sickle Cell Anemia?
What is Sickle Cell Anemia?
- Sickle Cell Anemia: Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder characterized by red blood cells which are crescent-shaped rather than the normal doughnut shape. These abnormally shaped red blood cells are unable to function normally and tend to undergo premature destruction which leads to anemia. If the genetic defect which causes the condition is inherited from both parents the condition can be quite severe whereas if it is inherited from only one parent, often there are no symptoms. The abnormally shaped red blood cells can cause problems when they clump together and block blood vessels.
- Sickle Cell Anemia: A disease characterized by chronic hemolytic anemia, episodic painful crises, and pathologic involvement of many organs. It is the clinical expression of homozygosity for hemoglobin S.
Source - Diseases Database
- Sickle Cell Anemia: a congenital form of anemia occurring mostly in blacks; characterized by abnormal blood cells having a crescent shape.
Source - WordNet 2.1
Sickle Cell Anemia is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of
Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). This means that Sickle Cell Anemia, or a subtype of Sickle Cell Anemia,
affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Ophanet, a consortium of European partners,
currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000.
They list Sickle Cell Anemia as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet
Sickle Cell Anemia: Introduction
Types of Sickle Cell Anemia:
Broader types of Sickle Cell Anemia:
How many people get Sickle Cell Anemia?
Prevalance of Sickle Cell Anemia: estimated 1 per 1,000 Hispanic Americans are affected by sickle cell disease in the US, Genetics Home Reference website
Prevalance Rate of Sickle Cell Anemia: approx 1 in 1,000 or 0.10% or 272,000 people in USA [about data]
Incidence (annual) of Sickle Cell Anemia: 1 per 500 African American births; 1 per 1,000-1,400 Hispanic-American births
Incidence Rate of Sickle Cell Anemia: approx 1 in 34,000 or 0.00% or 8,000 people in USA [about data]
Prevalance of Sickle Cell Anemia:
Sickle cell anemia is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting about 72,000 Americans or 1 in 500 African Americans.
(Source: Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology)
Who gets Sickle Cell Anemia?
Patient Profile for Sickle Cell Anemia: Infants: usually detected from symptoms occurring by age 6 months.
Race Profile for Sickle Cell Anemia: More common in people of African or South American descent.
Racial predominance for Sickle Cell Anemia:
Africans
Race Profile for Sickle Cell Anemia: Sickle cell anemia is a major public health problem affecting a
significant portion of the African-American population.
(Source: excerpt from Hydroxyurea in Pediatric Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: NHLBI)
How serious is Sickle Cell Anemia?
Prognosis of Sickle Cell Anemia: There is no cure for the condition though bone marrow transplants can significantly help a small number of people. People with the condition tend to have a shorter life span but careful management of symptoms and complications can improve the quality of life and increase the life span. Some people can survive past the age of 50 if they manage their condition carefully.
Complications of Sickle Cell Anemia:
see complications of Sickle Cell Anemia
Deaths for Sickle Cell Anemia: 501 deaths (NHLBI 1999)
What causes Sickle Cell Anemia?
Causes of Sickle Cell Anemia: see causes of Sickle Cell Anemia
Cause of Sickle Cell Anemia: Chronic hemolytic anemia resulting from destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) because of a genetic defect in these RBCs.
Risk factors for Sickle Cell Anemia:
see
risk factors for Sickle Cell Anemia
What are the symptoms of Sickle Cell Anemia?
Symptoms of Sickle Cell Anemia:
see symptoms of Sickle Cell Anemia
Complications of Sickle Cell Anemia:
see complications of Sickle Cell Anemia
Onset of Sickle Cell Anemia: Condition present at birth but symptoms may not appear for a few months.
Can anyone else get Sickle Cell Anemia?
Inheritance:
see inheritance of Sickle Cell Anemia
Inheritance of genetic conditions: see details in inheritance of genetic diseases.
Sickle Cell Anemia: Testing
Diagnostic testing: see tests for Sickle Cell Anemia.
Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Sickle Cell Anemia.
How is it treated?
Treatments for Sickle Cell Anemia:
see treatments for Sickle Cell Anemia
Prevention of Sickle Cell Anemia:
see prevention of Sickle Cell Anemia
Research for Sickle Cell Anemia:
see research for Sickle Cell Anemia
Society issues for Sickle Cell Anemia
Hospitalizations for Sickle Cell Anemia: 60,000 (NHLBI 1999)
Hospitalization statistics for Sickle Cell Anemia:
The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Sickle Cell Anemia:
- 0.083% (10,525) of hospital consultant episodes were for sickle-cell disorders in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 87% of hospital consultant episodes for sickle-cell disorders required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 51% of hospital consultant episodes for sickle-cell disorders were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 49% of hospital consultant episodes for sickle-cell disorders were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 62% of hospital consultant episodes for sickle-cell disorders required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- 4.7 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for sickle-cell disorders in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
- more statistics...»
Physician office visits for Sickle Cell Anemia: 122,000 (NHLBI 1999)
Organs Affected by Sickle Cell Anemia:
Organs and body systems related to Sickle Cell Anemia include:
Name and Aliases of Sickle Cell Anemia
Main name of condition: Sickle Cell Anemia
Class of Condition for Sickle Cell Anemia: genetic autosomal recessive
Other names or spellings for Sickle Cell Anemia:
SCI, sickle cell disease, HbS disease, Hemoglobin S disease, SCD, sickle cell disorders, sickling disorder due to hemoglobin S, Drepanocytic anemia
Hb SS disease, Sickle cell disease
Source - Diseases Database
Sickle-cell anaemia, Sickle-cell disease, Crescent-cell anemia, Crescent-cell anaemia, Drepanocytic anemia, Drepanocytic anaemia, Sickle-cell anemia, Sickle-cell anaemia, Crescent-cell anemia, Crescent-cell anaemia, Drepanocytic anemia, Drepanocytic anaemia
Source - WordNet 2.1
Sickle cell disease
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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