Context: Premarital screening has been proven to be an effective means of reducing the overall burden of genetic disorders like Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) in the general population. Aims: To determine the knowledge, attitude and perception of traditional and religious leaders on premarital screening for SCD in Sokoto, NorthWestern , Nigeria. Settings and Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: Pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was administered to 375 participants selected through multistage sampling method. Data on the knowledge, attitude and perception of premarital screening for sickle cell disease were obtained. Statistical analysis used: Data were analyzed with SPSS Version 20.0. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age ± SD of the participants was 37.0±11.6 years and the majority of respondents were male 310 (83.1%), married 247 (67.1%) and had tertiary education 179 (50.4%). Good knowledge of SCD was demonstrated by 263 (70.1%) and positive attitude was shown by 259 (69.1%) while positive perception was received from 242 (67.9%). Age, marital and educational status were significantly associated with knowledge of SCD (p< 0.05). Knowledge of the SCD had great influence on the participant's perception for premarital screening in the same way their perception influenced their attitude on premarital screening for SCD (p=0.01). Conclusion: The traditional and religious leaders in Sokoto metropolis showed good knowledge of SCD as well as positive attitude and perception on premarital screening for SCD. We therefore, recommend intensive public awareness programmes and implementation of premarital screening of SCD as well as utilisation of the community leaders as change agents to curb the menace of SCD.

CONTEXT:Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) scourge continues to affect young women within the reproductive age group and pregnancy is a recognized indication for the use antiretroviral (ARV) drugs among HIV-positive women.AIMS:The aim is to determine the combined effect of pregnancy, HIV and ARV drugs on the hematological parameters of the pregnant women.SETTINGS AND DESIGN:This was a comparative cross-sectional study conducted among 70 each of HIV-positive and negative pregnant women.SUBJECTS AND METHODS:Bio-demographic and clinical data were extracted from the client folder and 4 ml of blood sample was obtained from each participant. Full blood count was generated using Swelab automatic hematology analyzer while reticulocyte count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were conducted manually.STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED:Data analysis was performed using SPSS version software 16 while P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS:Pregnant women with HIV had statistically significant lower hematocrit and white blood cell (WBC) and higher ESR than pregnant women without HIV (P < 0.000). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of platelet and reticulocyte (P > 0.05). However, among HIV positive pregnant women, those with CD4 count <350/μL had statistically significant lower WBC and lymphocyte count than those with CD4 count ≥350/μL (P < 0.05), whereas, those on zidovudine (AZT)-containing treatment had statistically significant lower hematocrit and higher mean cell volume than those on non-AZT-containing treatment (P < 0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in any of the hematological parameters (P > 0.050) between women on first- and second-line ARV regimens.CONCLUSIONS:There is a significant difference in terms of hematological parameters between HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women in this environment.

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