Rm. Millis et al., PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE DECREMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH SICKLE-CELL-ANEMIA, Journal of the National Medical Association, 86(2), 1994, pp. 113-116
Prior studies have suggested that cardiorespiratory dysfunction might
contribute to the inability of children with sickle cell anemia to exe
rcise competitively with normal children. This article presents a stud
y designed to detect differences in performance of routine physical ac
tivities between groups of children having homozygous hemoglobin of si
ckle cell anemia (HbSS) and those with normal hemoglobin (HbAA). Thirt
y 10-year-old girls were divided into two equal groups exhibiting no s
ignificant differences in height, weight, or body surface area. Each s
ubject performed 20-yd swimming, 40-yd swimming, and 100-yd ''potato''
foot-racing activities. Results showed significant performance decrem
ents in HbSS compared with HbAA children. Performance decrements on th
e 20-yd swimming were found to be significantly greater than in either
the 40-yd swimming or the 100-yd ''potato'' races. Assessment of 20-y
d swim time as a fraction of 40-yd swim time showed diminished capacit
y of HbSS children for ''burst activity.'' It is concluded that distan
ce might play a role in the capacity of HbSS children to compete with
HbAA children in racing activities such as those encountered in school
-based physical education programs. Parents and educators should consi
der that short distance racing might exaggerate the inability of child
ren with sickle cell anemia to compete with normal children.