A comparison between the characteristics of Jamaican adults with normal hemoglobin and those with sickle cell trait

ABSTRACT

In surveys of representative samples of Jamaicans aged 35-64 years living in rural and suburan communities, no significant differences in heights, weights, hematological indices, cardiothoracic ratios, blood pressures, glycosuria, proteinuria, parity or electrocardiographic abnormalaties were apparent between 167 subjects with the sickle cell trait, AS, and 1,282 subjects with normal hemoglobin, AA. Older women with the trait had a significantly higher prevalence of bacteriuria without other evidence of urinary tract pathalogy. The findings suggest that the trait is not appreciably associated with chronic disease. (AU)