Sickle Cell disease highly prevalent among tribal population

According to research studies and demographic surveys by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and genetic researchers, sickle cell disease is widespread in many tribal groups of India, especially among Dravidian and pre-Dravidian tribes inhabiting malaria endemic regions

Hyderabad: The prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), a genetic condition that affects hemoglobin that carries oxygen in the body, among the tribal population in Telangana and other Indian States, is traditionally high.

Based on multiple research studies and demographic surveys by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and genetic researchers, sickle cell disease is widespread in many tribal groups of India, especially among Dravidian and pre-Dravidian tribes inhabiting malaria endemic regions.

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According to the Tribal Affairs ministry, 1 in 86 births among Scheduled Tribes (ST) population have SCD, the prevalence being higher in Central, South and Western parts of India. A nationwide wide screening of tribal population, conducted recently by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs, indicated that out of 1, 13, 83, 664 persons who were screened, 8.75 percent (9, 966, 368) tested positive for SCD.

Since sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder, it is inherited by children from their parents. However, research in India has detected that prevalence of sickle cell among individuals is particularly high in regions where malaria is endemic.  Since SCD has a protective mechanism to malaria, according to researchers, as an evolutionary trait, its incidence increased among tribal populations.

Sickle cell Disease is due to a gene mutation that affects the shape of red blood cells. In people with SCD, their red blood cells are crescent shaped instead of the normal round shape. The disease causes constant shortage of RBCs leading to anemia and other serious ailments. The life expectancy of SCD positive individuals is around 54 years, which is 20 years shorter than normal adults.

Endogamy, or marrying within the same community and within a physically small area (tribal regions) do have inbreeding, causing inherited genetic disorders such as sickle cell anemia and beta-Thalassemia, population studies have indicated.