Trends in haemoglobin S, F, and A2 levels in West African and Caribbean sickle cell anaemia patients

Abstract

The levels of Haemoglobins S, F and A2, as well as Haemoglobin concentration, age, and average admissions per year (AVEADM) were compared in sickle cell anaemia patients of West African and Caribbean origins. Correlations of the haemoglobin levels with age, and the trends were also determined. The West Afri can patients who comprised of 42 Nigerians, 23 Ghanaians and 13 Sierra Leoneans were compared to determine any differences in trend within them. One hundred and thirty-four patients, made up of 78 West Africans and 56 Caribbeans were analysed. The Caribbean patients were significantly older than the West African patients (P = 0.023). Haemoglobins S and F showed positive and negative significant correlations, respectively, with age in West African patients whereas there was no significant correlation in the Caribbean patients. Scatter charts and trendlines show that Haemoglobin S continued to increase while Haemoglobin F declined with age up to the age of 30 years in West Africans, Nigerians showing the steepest slope, while it remained stable with increasing age in the Caribbean patients. These findings may be due to the fact that the Caribbeans are genetic and socio-cultural mixtures of the different West African peoples, and the absence of indigenous malaria pressure.