Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease among Newborns in St Vincent and the Grenadines: A Retrospective Study

In the United States of America (USA), sickle cell disease (SCD) occurs in 1:375 African-American births. However, published data from the Caribbean have revealed higher numbers for some Caribbean islands. St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is a multi-island nation in the Caribbean, and there are currently no data on the incidence or prevalence of the disease in this population. The objective of this study was to obtain birth prevalence estimates for SCD in SVG.

A retrospective review of haemoglobin electrophoresis test results at the laboratory of the main hospital in SVG for the period of October 1, 2005 to December 31, 2013 was done. Test results and demographic data were extracted to determine the estimated birth prevalence of SCD.

The estimated birth prevalence of SCD was found to be 1:172 live births, and 86% of the patients were diagnosed after one year of age.

The birth prevalence of SCD in SVG was higher than those in the USA, but was similar to the numbers in other Caribbean populations.