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Like most of the medical issues in the 21st century, sickle-cell disease is also associated with a number of health disparities, some of which we highlight in this brief.

Introduction
Sickle-cell disease (SCD) is the most widely known hereditary illness across the globe, affecting roughly 100,000 persons in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)ยน. Individuals with sickle-cell disease have poorer health status than individuals with other illnesses, and they receive fewer health care services.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood illness that primarily affects African-Americans and Hispanics. Infections, stroke, and renal failure are just a few of the serious, long-term, and expensive health problems associated with the condition, most of which can shorten life expectancy. Differences in health access among African Americans as well as other minority ethnic communities are well-documented and linked to worse sickle cell disease consequences.

Health Disparities and Sickle Cell Disease
Socially deprived communities face disparities in disease burden, progression, and injury, all of which are avoidable.
Disparities in financing and management of sickle cell disease relative to other health conditions can be attributed to a number of factors. There is a positive relationship between states that have denied expansion of Medicaid, African-American population demographics, and sickle cell disease. It’s unknown how much of this is due to money, political division, or racism, or what other variables may be at play.

Sickle-cell disease affects roughly one in every 16,300 Hispanic-American babies born and roughly one in every 365 Black or African-American babies born have Sickle-cell disease.
The CDC has implemented the Sickle Cell Data Collection (SCDC) programยฒ to gather medical data about individuals with sickle cell disease in order to observe long-term patterns and developments in diagnostic testing, therapeutic interventions, and access to health care.
The SCDC initiative intends to use research outcomes to drive legislative and healthcare solutions to improve the conditions of individuals with sickle cell disease and to help them live better, healthier lives.
The program, which is ongoing in California and Georgia, is supported by Pfizer Inc., Bioverativ, and Global Blood Therapeuticsยณ.

Conclusion
Sickle cell disease research and treatment is impacted by disparities at all levels of the healthcare system. Advances in medical technology on the research front and policy improvements at the federal level are making strides in overcoming these disparities.

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Data & Statistics on Sickle Cell Disease. (May 2, 2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States&text=SCD%20affects%20approximately%20100%2C000%20Americans,sickle%20cell%20trait%20(SCT)

Sickle Cell Data Collection (SCDC) Program. (April 2, 2021). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hemoglobinopathies/scdc.html#:~:text=The%20Sickle%20Cell%20Data%20Collection,SCD%20in%20the%20United%20States.

(2020) Addressing sickle cell disease: a strategic plan and blueprint for action. National Academies Press (US). Martinez RM, Osei-Anto HA, McCormick M, editors. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK566469/