Impact of sickle cell trait on physical growth in tribal children of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh, India.

BACKGROUND

Reliable reports on growth impairment in sickle cell trait (SCT) children in India are lacking despite contradictory findings reported earlier.

AIM

The present study assessed the impact of SCT on physical growth of tribal children of Mandla district.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Weight, height, circumferences, breadths, lengths and skinfolds were recorded on 6190 children, inclusive of 732 SCT children, from birth to 12 years of age using a cross-sectional design. The sickle test was conducted in the field using 2% sodium metabisulphite followed by electrophoresis.

RESULTS

No significant difference in mean values was observed in the majority of the age groups between SCT and normal children for all 11 body measurements. However, inconsistent growth patterns in these measurements among SCT children were evident. Body weight was more deficient than height or other body measurements in the children when compared to Indian and National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards, while bicristal breadth was comparable with Indian standards.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant impact of SCT observed on growth of children irrespective of sex. Notably, growth of SCT girls was comparable to their normal counterparts. The actual growth difference between normal and SCT children may have been masked on account of poor attainment of annual gain in each successive age group.