الفهرس 
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Abstract
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary hemoglobinopathy characterized by hemolytic anemia and intermittent occlusion of small vessels, chronic organ damage, and organ dysfunction.
Vitamin D deficiency has emerged as a public health focus in recent years and it is one of the most common nutritional conditions among persons with SCD and there are characteristics specific to SCD that may contribute to this phenomenon including decreased appetite, inability to absorb nutrients due to damage to the intestinal mucosa, as well as an increased basal metabolic rate and higher nutritional demands to sustain normal physiologic functioning.
Our study included 50 children and adolescents with sickle cell disease recruited from the regular attendants Hematology/Oncology Clinic in Pediatric Hospital, Ain Shams University. Patients with sickle cell disease as confirmed by qualitative and quantitative analysis of hemoglobin using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at their steady state were recruited. Patients with any inflammatory condition within one month prior to sample collection and those on vitamin D and \or calcium supplementation in the last 6 months were excluded.
They were divided into two groups according to their serum vitamin D level; group I included 27 patients with vitamin D level more than 30 nmol and group II included 23 patients with vitamin D level less than 30nmol. This represents a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (46%) in the studied population.
Upon comparison between group I and group II, there was no significant differences as regard clinic-demographic data and treatment modalities.
Patients with SCD and vitamin D deficiency had statistically significant higher history of fracture than those of with normal vitamin D level.
In our study there was statistically significant lower frequencies of joint and bone pain, sickle crisis, hospital admission and infections in patients with normal level of vitamin D.
There was statistically significant lower serum ferritin, in group I than in group II but no statistically significant difference were found as regard other laboratory data of sickle cell disease.
There was statistically significant improvement in vitamin D level after supplementation. There was statistically significant improvement as regard number of crisis after 3 months of vitamin D therapy (P =0.043), with no statistically significant difference other studied parameters.
There was statistically significant negative correlation between vitamin D level and number of crisis after 3 months of vitamin D therapy
The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Egyptian SCD patients reflect significant comorbidities in deficient group rather than non-deficient group however there’s no significant correlation between vitamin D and many different parameters which reflect that there’s another factors participating in frequency and severity of the comorbidities in SCD.