PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE DECREMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH SICKLE-CELL-ANEMIA

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.