Sickle Cell Disease and Psychosocial Well-Being: Comparison of Patients With Preclinical and Clinical Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head

Tezol,Özlem | Karahan,Feryal | Unal,Selma

Aim: Sickle cell disease (SCD) has significant adverse psychosocial impacts in childhood. Patients with SCD may be affected by avascular necrosis (AVN) and the most commonly involved site is the femoral head. We aimed to conduct a comparative investigation of the psychosocial well-being of pediatric SCD patients with preclinical and clinical femoral head AVN. Materials and Methods: Patients with homozygous SCD and healthy peers aged 7-17 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Psychosocial well-being was assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), parent version. SDQ scores were compared between the groups. Results: A total of 74 mother–child couples were enrolled in this study. The SCD with clinical AVN (stages I-IV) group consisted of 17 patients, SCD with...