Conclusion
The current study suggests that pediatric patients with SCD in Mississippi now have similar prevalence rates of being overweight as state and national norms, in contrast with historically being underweight to normal weight. Those patients who are overweight/obese have a higher median basal hemoglobin level than patients who are underweight or normal weight. Prospective research is needed to examine if modern treatments, including hydoxyurea and chronic transfusions, that increase basal hemoglobin level may contribute to this increased rate of being overweight/obese in children with SCD. The overall impact of increased BMI in these patients is unknown and additional studies in this area are needed.
Conflict of Interest Statement: There are no conflicts of interest to disclose with any of the authors with the data or content in this manuscript.
Acknowledgements: None.
Data Availability Statement : The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.