Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of the participants
| Variable | Participants group | Total | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Sickle cell | |||
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 51 (42.1%) | 70 (57.9%) | 121 (48.0%) | |
| Male | 75 (57.3%) | 56 (42.7%) | 131 (52.0%) | 0.017 |
| Age group (years) | ||||
| <10 | 7 (41.2%) | 10 (58.8%) | 17 (6.7%) | |
| 10-16 | 38 (43.2%) | 50 (56.8%) | 88 (34.9%) | 0.434 |
| 17-23 | 48 (55.8%) | 38 (44.2%) | 86 (34.1%) | |
| 24-30 | 29 (54.7%) | 24 (45.3%) | 53 (21.0%) | |
| >30 | 4 (50.0%) | 4 (50.0%) | 8 (3.2%) | |
| BMI group (kg/m2) | ||||
| Underweight (<18.5) | 33 (35.9%) | 59 (64.1%) | 92 (36.5%) | |
| Normal (18.5-24.9) | 71 (54.6%) | 59 (45.4%) | 130 (51.6%) | 0.002 |
| Overweight (25.0-29.9) | 21 (85.0%) | 3 (15.0%) | 24 (9.5%) | |
| Obese (>30.0) | 6 (100.0%) | 0 (0.00%) | 6 (2.4%) | |
BMI=Body mass index (kg/m2) (National Obesity Observatory, 2009)[19]