Sickle Cell Anemia vs. Sickle Cell Trait vs. Sickle Cell Disease

December 1, 2023

3 min read

You may have heard of sickle cell before, but upon learning the terms “sickle cell anemia,” “sickle cell trait,” and “sickle cell disease,” you may be left wondering what the difference between these terms is and what each of them means.

Millions of people around the globe are affected by sickle cell disease. In the United States, approximately 100,000 people have this blood disorder, many of whom are specifically affected by sickle cell anemia.

2.5 million people have sickle cell trait (SCT), which is different than sickle cell disease (SCd).

Below, we’ll contrast and provide details on sickle cell anemia, sickle cell trait, and sickle cell disease.

What is Sickle Cell Disease?

Normal, healthy red blood cells are disc-shaped, but people affected by sickle cell disease have red blood cells that are shaped like a sickle (or crescent). The “C” shape of red blood cells that marks this disease makes it more difficult for red blood cells to move through blood vessels, resulting in clogs and blockages in the blood vessels.

When these clogs prevent blood from reaching parts of the body, it’s known as a sickle cell crisis, which can cause a number of problems including:

Pain
Life-threatening complications
Organ damage
Increased rates of infection

People with sickle cell disease are normally well in between sickling episodes – times when sickle cells clog or block the blood vessels. However, low oxygen, dehydration, cold, and infection can trigger sickling.

Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is a type of sickle cell disease. People affected by sickle cell anemia have inherited two genes that affect the shape of hemoglobin in red blood cells (which carry oxygen in the blood).

Sickle cell anemia is the most common and severe form of sickle cell disease and can result in serious complications and painful episodes.

People with sickle cell anemia have red blood cells that not only cause blockages during sickle crises but also red blood cells that do not live as long as normal, healthy ones do. Normal red blood cells live for about 120 days, while sickle cells often die out in 10 to 20 days. This results in a lack of red blood cells in the body low oxygen and feelings of fatigue.

Sickle Cell Trait

Sickle cell trait is most common in people of African descent, occurring in 8% to 10% of African Americans. However, sickle cell trait can affect people of different ethnicities as well.

The difference between sickle cell trait, sickle cell disease, and sickle cell anemia is that people with sickle cell anemia inherit two genes that result in the production of abnormal hemoglobin, while people with sickle cell trait carry only one of these genes. Furthermore, people with sickle cell trait will never experience “sickling” which happens to people with sickle cell disease and sickle cell anemia.

Most people with sickle cell trait live healthy, normal lives. However, rare and extreme conditions or exposures like severe dehydration and high-intensity exercise can result in significant health issues or even death for people with sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell trait will never become sickle cell disease, the biggest risk (apart from the rare one mentioned above) is that the person will pass this gene onto their child. For example, if both parents have sickle cell trait, there is a 50% that their child will inherit sickle cell trait and a 25% chance that their child will inherit sickle cell disease. There is also a 25% chance that their child won’t inherit any blood disorder.

Treatment

Sickle cell trait generally requires no medical treatment, but sickle cell disease and sickle cell anemia do. Doctors will regularly monitor a patient’s health to detect early signs of complications.

They will also give patients regular vaccinations to prevent infection along with preventative antibiotics. Regular blood transfusions will also keep their red blood cell level healthy.

Pain medications, oxygen therapy, and hydroxyurea (which prevents the formation of sickle cells) may also be used for treatment depending on the severity of the case.

Lastly, a bone marrow transplant can cure people of sickle cell disease, but it may not be applicable to everyone because it requires chemotherapy.

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