title: Sickle cell disease in the older adult.
abstract: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited haemoglobin disorder, associated with recurrent painful episodes, ongoing haemolytic anaemia and progressive multi-organ damage. Until the early 1990s, survival beyond the fourth decade for a patient with SCD was considered unusual and prompted case reports. Nowadays, in countries with developed health care systems, more than 90 percent of newborns with SCD survive into adulthood. Nevertheless, their life expectancy is still shortened by more than two decades compared to the general population. With an increasing life expectancy, SCD has now evolved into a debilitating disorder with substantial morbidity resulting from ongoing sickle cell vasculopathy and multi-organ damage. Limited data on health care issues of older adults with SCD poses multiple challenges to patients, their families and health care providers. In this review, we will address and discuss acute and chronic complications of SCD with a special focus on the older adult.
authors.affiliation: Sickle Cell Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Mya S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Thein
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Norris E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Igbineweka
authors.affiliation: Sickle Cell Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: sl.thein@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Swee Lay
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Thein
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006801:Humans; D058958:Organs at Risk / Q000473:pathology*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement
keywords: Sickle cell disease; multi-organ damage; older adults; vasculopathy