|
More about Sickle Cell Disease:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Psychosocial support Prognosis Resources |
Sickle cell disease is characteristically variable between and within affected individuals. Predicting the course of the disorder based solely on genes is not possible. Several factors aside from genetic inheritance determine the prognosis for affected individuals, including the frequency, severity, and nature of specific complications in any given individual. The availability and access of comprehensive medical care also plays an important role in preventing and treating serious, acute complications, which cause the majority of sickle cell-related deaths. For those individuals who do not experience such acute events, life-expectancy is probably substantially greater than the average for all people with sickle cell disease. The impact of recent medical advances supports the hypothesis that current life-expectancies may be significantly greater than those estimated in the early 1990s. At that time, individuals with SS disease lived to the early-to mid-40s, and those with SC disease lived into the upper 50s on average. With early detection and comprehensive medical care, most people with sickle cell disease are in fairly good health most of the time. Most individuals can be expected to live well into adulthood, enjoying an improved quality of life including the ability to choose a variety of education, career, and family-planning options for themselves.
— Jennifer Bojanowski
