Sickle Cell Trait and Risks for Common Diseases: Evidence from the UK Biobank

Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive disease caused by the inheritance of two pathogenic mutations of the hemoglobin subunit beta gene (HBB) (usually Glu6Val, though other pathogenic mutations exist).1 The altered hemoglobin makes red blood cells prone to being crescent-shaped, which can cause vaso-occlusion and result in numerous serious complications and comorbidities including: vaso-occlusive crisis, acute chest syndrome, infections, pulmonary hypertension, stroke, pulmonary embolism, renal failure, retinopathy, splenic sequestration, priapism, cholelithiasis, and osteonecrosis.

Source: The American Journal of Medicine - April 21, 2022 Category: General Medicine Authors: Joseph Hulsizer, W. Kyle Resurreccion, Zhuqing Shi, Jun Wei, Skylar Ladson-Gary, S. Lilly Zheng, Brian T. Helfand, Liana Billings, Michael S. Caplan, Jianfeng Xu Source Type: research