Development of disease-specific growth curves from Kenyan children with sickle cell anemia
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a life-threatening hemoglobinopathy with worldwide distribution. Featuring multiple acute and chronic complications, SCA is also associated with growth impairment. A lack of appropriate reference data on height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) impedes assessment of the effect of therapies on growth in African children with SCA. The World Health Organization (WHO) growth curves are derived from healthy populations. We analyzed 6095 height and weight paired measurements (2875 in females, 3220 in males; median, 5 measurements/child) from 864 children with SCA, aged 6 months to 19 years, in Kilifi, Kenya. The growth percentile trajectories showed substantial delays when compared with the WHO curves. The female deficits in median height were 7 cm at age 5 years, 11 cm at 10 years, and 13 cm at age 15 years. Male height deficits were 6 cm at 5 years, 10 cm at 10 years, and 21 cm at 15 years. Median weight deficits were 3.4 kg at 5 years and 9.1 kg at 10 years for females, and 3.0 kg at 5 years and 7.7 kg at 10 years for males. The median BMI was lower by 5 kg/m2 at 15 years for both females and males. These newly developed Kilifi SCA growth curves provide useful disease-specific references for clinicians and researchers.
Date Issued
2025-12-01
Date Acceptance
2025-09-03
Citation
Blood Global Hematology, 2025, 1 (3)
ISSN
3050-5658
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Blood Global Hematology
Volume
1
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2025 American Society of Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
100031
Date Publish Online
2025-09-26