Epidemiology of sickle cell disorder: The urban scenario in Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The present study was designed to determine the current status of sickle cell disease (SCD) in urban population of eastern part (Vidarbha) of Maharashtra State in India. A Ttotal of 3479 subjects belonginged to 40 ethnic groups, including 29 non tribal, 8 tribal and three migratory groups were encounteredsampled. Blood samples were collected aseptically from all individuals and positive samples were further subjected to cellulose acetate hemoglobin electrophoresis for discriminatory confirmation. The overall Pprevalence of sickle cell trait was found to be 4.94%, of which genotype HbAS and HbSS were found to be represented by 3.88% and 1.06% respectively. All tribal populations were found to be SCD positive with moderate frequency (0-14%)Prevalence of SCD was identified from all tribal groups and its distribution ranges from 0-14%. Among non tribestribal populations, out of 32 ethnic groups, it has beenSCD was diagnosed from 14 groups with frequency ranging between 0-and 10%.  The age group 0-30 years was found to be more prone to the disorder and the rate declined progressively with increasing age especially in the peoples above 30 years of age.
 
Key words: Sickle cell disease, urban population, Eastern Maharashtra, tribal  populationgroups, caste populationgroups, ethnic groups.