Abstract
Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary chronic haemolytic disorder characterised by repeated vaso-occlusion and chronic haemolysis resulting into chronic complications such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and early mortality. Aim: This study is aimed at assessing the arterial blood pressure indices and the clinical implications in individuals with SCA compared with normal Haemoglobin AA among young adult individuals in Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: A total of 132 young adults (18 – 35 years) participated in the study. They were classified into two groups; 69 cases (participants with Hb SS) and 63 age and sex matched controls (participants with Hb AA) which were purposively selected after haemoglobin typing using electrophoresis method. Blood pressure (BP) measurement was done three times after five minute rest using a validated digital sphygmomanometer (Lumiscope) of appropriate cuff size attached to the arm. The average of the last two measurements was calculated and used as the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Pulse Pressure (PP), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Rate Pressure Product (RPP) was calculated using standard formulae. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and alpha value was set as < 0.05. Results: The mean SBP [110.62 ± 10.55 vs 114.94 ± 9.49 (t=-2.297, p=0.023)], DBP [66.20 ± 7.06 vs 77.06 ± 8.44 (t=-6.956, p<0.0001)] and MAP [81.01 ± 8.21 vs 89.69 ± 7.92 (t=-5.774, p<0.0001)] were significantly lower while the PP [44.42 ± 8.60 vs 37.88 ± 8.14 (t=4.187 ± p<0.0001)] was significantly higher among the participants with SCA. Conclusion: This study showed that SCA is associated with significantly lower SBP, DBP, and MAP with a significantly higher PP when compared with age and sex matched young adults with normal haemoglobin type.