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.