Can a white person have sickle cell disease?

Can a white person have sickle cell disease? Sickle cell disease affects millions of people around the world. While it’s very common in people of African heritage, people of other races and ethnicity can also inherit the condition. For example, white people can get sickle cell disease.

How rare is sickle cell anemia in white people? The U.S. incidence estimate for sickle cell trait (based on information provided by 13 states) was 73.1 cases per 1,000 black newborns, 3.0 cases per 1,000 white newborns, and 2.2 cases per 1,000 Asian or Pacific Islander newborns.

Is sickle cell Anemia only in black? Answer. Yes, they can. Sickle cell disease can affect people of ANY race or ethnicity. Sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder of the red blood cells, is more common in African Americans in the U.S. compared to other ethnicities—occurring in approximately 1 in 365 African Americans.

What races get sickle cell anemia? 

Sickle cell disease is more common in certain ethnic groups, including:
  • People of African descent, including African-Americans (among whom 1 in 12 carries a sickle cell gene)
  • Hispanic-Americans from Central and South America.
  • People of Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian, and Mediterranean descent.

Can a white person have sickle cell disease? – Additional Questions

What race gets sickle cell disease?

SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black or African-American births. SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic-American births. About 1 in 13 Black or African-American babies is born with sickle cell trait (SCT).

What percent of sickle cell patients are black?

The majority of children with SCA and sickle cell trait were black (86.3% and 80.2%, respectively). Among SCA births, 2.5% were white, 1.2% were multiracial, and 8.3% were of unknown race. Among sickle cell trait births, 7.0% were white, 5.3% were multiracial, and 5.9% had unknown race.

Where is sickle cell most common?

Millions of people around the world live with sickle cell disease (SCD). It is most common in Africa, the Middle East, and India. The exact number of people with SCD in the United States is unknown, but the estimate is around 100,000.

What gender is most affected by sickle cell anemia?

No sex predilection exists, since sickle cell anemia is not an X-linked disease. Although no particular gender predilection has been shown in most series, analysis of the data from the US Renal Data System demonstrated marked male predominance of sickle cell nephropathy in affected patients.

Why is sickle cell more common in Africa?

The disease is most common in sub-Saharan Africa, where as many as 45% of people are carriers. It has become so widespread there because being a carrier offers a survival advantage against malaria. The Middle East doesn’t really have a malaria problem, and the overall sickle-cell carrier rate is low.

What is the life expectancy of sickle cell anemia?

Results. Among children and adults with sickle cell anemia (homozygous for sickle hemoglobin), the median age at death was 42 years for males and 48 years for females. Among those with sickle cell-hemoglobin C disease, the median age at death was 60 years for males and 68 years for females.

Can sickle cell be cured?

Stem cell or bone marrow transplants are the only cure for sickle cell disease, but they’re not done very often because of the significant risks involved. Stem cells are special cells produced by bone marrow, a spongy tissue found in the centre of some bones. They can turn into different types of blood cells.

Can 2 sickle cell carriers get married?

The Chief Executive Officer of the Sickle Cell Foundation, Dr Annette Akinsete, has said carriers of sickle cell anaemia should not be discouraged from marrying each other.

At what age is sickle cell anemia detected?

People with sickle cell disease (SCD) start to have signs of the disease during the first year of life, usually around 5 months of age.

Can a male with sickle cell have a baby?

Sperm abnormalities are frequent in males with SCD, with rates as high as 91%. Low sperm density, low sperm counts, poor motility, and increased abnormal morphology occur more frequently in males with SCD than in controls.

Is sickle cell trait a disability?

Sickle cell anemia requires ongoing treatment, medicines, and hospital stays. If your sickle cell anemia is so severe that it prevents you from working, you may be struggling financially. Because sickle cell anemia is a type of physical disability, you may qualify for Social Security disability (SSD) benefits.

Do people with sickle cell sleep alot?

Sickle cell patients sleep less at night (decreased sleep duration), take more time to fall asleep (late sleep onset), or spend more time awake during the night (increased sleep fragmentation). These sleep disturbances are thought to ultimately cause more severe pain the following day.

Can you have sickle cell and not know it?

Sickle Cell Trait (SCT)

People with SCT usually do not have any of the signs of the disease. However, in rare cases, a person with SCT may develop health problems; this occurs most often when there are other stresses on the body, such as when a person becomes dehydrated or exercises strenuously.

Can a child have sickle cell trait if neither parent has it?

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder. Children can: inherit only one sickle cell gene from a parent.

What are the common early signs of sickle cell anemia?

What are the symptoms of sickle cell anemia?
  • excessive fatigue or irritability, from anemia.
  • fussiness, in babies.
  • bedwetting, from associated kidney problems.
  • jaundice, which is yellowing of the eyes and skin.
  • swelling and pain in hands and feet.
  • frequent infections.
  • pain in the chest, back, arms, or legs.

Can sickle cell anemia go away?

There’s no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia. Treatments can relieve pain and help prevent complications associated with the disease.

Is there a cure coming soon for sickle cell anemia?

New research from University of Alabama at Birmingham, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests a gene therapy called LentiGlobin could provide a permanent cure for sickle cell disease.