Sickle cell anemia is the most common inherited blood disease in the United States, affecting about 72,000 people, according to the National Institutes of Health. Red blood cells are normally smooth and round, allowing them to easily carry oxygen to the tissues and organs of the body. Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder that occurs when the body produces sickle- or crescent-shaped red blood cells that clump and cause blockages. The abnormal red blood cells die off in 10 to 20 days, while healthy red blood cells live up to 120 days. The body cannot create red blood cells quickly enough to make up for rapidly dying sickle cells, and tissues and organs cannot get sufficient oxygen. Certain populations are at greater risk for developing sickle cell anemia than others.
African Americans
Sickle cell disease is most prevalent in Central and West Africa, where about 1 to 2 percent of all babies are born with some form of sickle cell disease, according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. The National Institutes of Health explains that in the United States, an estimated one of every 500 African Americans has sickle cell anemia. The transatlantic slave trade is greatly responsible for bringing sickle cell disease to the Americas. Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, meaning that in order for sickle cell anemia to occur, each parent must carry one gene for sickle hemoglobin. When both parents possess the sickle hemoglobin gene, each child has a 25 percent chance of developing the disease, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Biological and Environmental Research's Human Genome Project.
Hispanics
Although sickle cell anemia is often thought of as an African American disease, people of hispanic descent may also carry the trait. Sickle cell disease commonly affects people from Spanish-speaking regions, such as South and Central America, as well as Cuba. Sickle cell disease occurs in one of every 36,000 hispanic American births, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Because it is less common in hispanic populations than the African American population, it is possible to possess the sickle cell trait and not have children who develop sickle cell disease. It is only when both parents possess the sickle cell trait that a child can develop the disease. Genetic counseling can help determine who possesses the trait.
Middle East and Southern Europeans
Sickle cell anemia can be found in the Middle East and Southern Europe, though it is less common than in the United States. In the Middle East, 6,000 children are born annually with sickle cell disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sickle cell disease occurs most commonly in or near Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Yemen.
Sickle cell anemia has been present in Southern Europe since before the transatlantic slave trade, according to the the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.
