SCD and Race

When you look at the numbers of those affected by sickle cell disease, it is clear that individuals of African descent are affected the most. Why is this? Sickle cell disease being a "black" disease is a common misconception made by those who haven't done enough digging on the matter! 

Believe it or not, sickle cell disease evolved as a resistance to malaria. According to the American Anthropological Association's webpage, www.understandingrace.org, sickle cell disease developed "In the malaria belt regions of Africa, the Middle East, southern Europe and South Asia, this gene variant flourished because the benefits of malaria resistance outweighed the negative impact of sickle cell disease." Therefore, the sickle cell gene is related to malaria, not race!

Here is a map showing the relationship between malaria, sickle cell, and skin color:

Because of immigration, it's safe to say that races associated with these regions will be more susceptible as we look at prevalence numbers in the United States; however, it is important to understand that if malaria was heavily present in any other part of the world, the ethnic groups and races associate with those geographic locations would undoubtedly be affected.






Now, we know that for our students, sickle cell disease can be painfully debilitating, so how in the world does the sickle cell trait do good to the body and ward off malaria? To better understand how the malaria parasite works, click on the video below!

So the malaria parasite with evolve to infect red blood cells. Once in a red blood cell, it can hide from the bodies immune system. Here it begins to destroy the round disc-like cell. Individuals with the sickle cell trait, however, allow for the parasite to be filtered out through the spleen and destroyed.

Source:
American Anthropological Association