Table 1.
Sample characteristics of 265 subjects with SCA, ages 1–12 years
| Total Mean ± SD N = 265 (%) |
Ages 1–4 years Mean value ±SD N = 113 (%) |
Ages 5–12 years Mean value ±SD N = 152 (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 5.5 ± 2.9 | 2.5 ± 1.1 | 7.5 ± 2.1 |
| Sex (male), N (%) | 139 (52.4) | 61 (54.0) | 77 (50.6) |
| Height (cm) (N = 252) | 109.3 ± 18.0 | 92.0 ± 13.7 | 121.6 ± 11.9 |
| Weight (kg) (N = 252) | 18.1 ± 6.1 | 13.8 ± 9.6 | 22.7 ± 12.6 |
| Malnutrition+ (N = 252), N (%) | 37 (14.7) | 10 (9.3) | 27 (18.8) |
| Severe malnutrition++, N (%) | 12 (4.8) | 3 (2.8) | 9 (6.3) |
| Malnutrition (z-score) | −0.82 ± 1.52 | ||
| Weight-for-height (z-score) | – | −0.49 ± 1.75 | – |
| BMI z-score | – | – | −1.06 ± 1.27 |
| Hemoglobin# (g/dl) (N = 250) | 7.3 ± 1.0 | – | – |
| Hb ≤7.5 g/dl (N = 158) | 6.7 ± 0.5 | 6.6 ± 0.6 | 6.7 ± 0.5 |
| Hb > 7.5 g/dl (N = 92) | 8.3 ± 0.7 | 8.4 ± 0.7 | 8.3 ± 0.8 |
+Defined per World Health Organization standards, by age and sex, for children 1–4 years and ages 5–12 years, as z-score of ≤ − 2; ++z-score of ≤ − 3. (ref. 28)
#Severe anemia is defined as Hb < 8.0 g/deciliter (National Cancer Institute CTCAE Version 5.0, 2017)
Over half of the participants in the BRAIN SAFE cross-sectional sample were pre-school age. Participants were divided into two age groups to align with the neurocognitive testing batteries used for these two age ranges. Malnutrition (low weight-for-height) was highly prevalent, especially among those ages 5–12 years. Hemoglobin levels were low and did not vary by age