Eunuchoid Habitus Associated with Sickle-Cell Anemia and the Sickling Trait

Heights, Weights, and Skeletal Age of Jamaican Adolescents with Sickle Cell Anaemia

“…As children with sickle cell anaemia have been found to be smaller than normal in other studies (Sharpe and Vonder Heide, 1944;Whitten, 1961), and as the average height of a series of Jamaican adult patients was as great as that of controls (Ashcroft and Serjeant, 1972), it seems probable that in sickle cell anaemia the increase of stature during adolescence is, on average, greater than normal-a feature that may be associated with delay in skeletal maturation. Longitudinal studies now in progress will reveal with greater accuracy the growth patterns of sickle cell anaemia.…”

“…Little has been recorded about growth changes in sickle cell anaemia, particularly during adolescence, though the body habitus of a few patients has been briefly described by Burch (1944, 1945), Sharpe and Vonder Heide (1944), Whitten (1961), and Jimenez et al (1966). These studies suggested that adolescents with sickle cell anaemia were shorter than normal and it is therefore surprising that Serjeant et al (1968) found that the mean stature of 60 Jamaican adults with sickle cell anaemia was as great as that of healthy Jamaicans, a finding that has been confirmed by Ashcroft and Serjeant (1972) in a further series of 121 adult patients.…”

The emerging understanding of sickle cell disease

“…Growth Menarche was delayed to 18 years in Washburn's (1911) case and Mason (1922) reported a slender build, absence of axillary and scant pubic hair in a 21‐year‐old man. Further papers commented on the tendency of sickle cell patients to be tall and slim (Diggs & Ching, 1934; Sharp & Vonder Heide, 1944) and early anthropometric studies recorded the long thin limbs, narrow pectoral and pelvic girdles, hoop shaped chest and low body weight (Winsor & Burch, 1944, 1945). The abnormal growth and some of its determinants have been documented from both the Cooperative Study in the USA (Platt et al , 1984) and the Jamaican Cohort Study (Stevens et al , 1986).…”