A comparison of the physical and intellectual development of black children with and without sickle-cell trait.
Sickle-cell trait, a condition present in 7% to 9% of the United States Black population, is usually considered to be a clinically benign condition. However, there is increasing evidence to indicate the contrary, that is, the clinical pathophysiology is variable, ranging from a benign condition in most cases to a relatively few cases of severe pathological involvement. Physical and intellectual growth measures were taken on 19 children with sickle-cell trait (12 boys and 7 girls) from a large study of Black same-sex twin pairs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and compared to measures taken of a sample of normal Black children from 155 monozygotic and dizygotic same-sex twin pairs. Sickle-cell trait carriers were found to weigh less, have smaller upper arm circumference lesser skinfold thickness, and showed less mature skeletal age, differing significantly from normal children. Sickle-cell carriers tended to score lower on four of five intellectual measures, scoring one fifth to one third of a standard deviation lower than normal children.
D000293:Adolescent; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D044383:Black People; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D010414:Pennsylvania; D012805:Sickle Cell Trait / Q000235:genetics*; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D001741:Black or African American