EVALUATIONOF TRACE ELEMENTS IN SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA PATIENTS ATTENDING IMO STATE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, OWERRI

Abstract

This work was carried out to evaluate the levels of trace elements among sickle cell anaemia patients attending Imo State Specialist Hospital, Owerri. Thirty subjects were recruited which include fifteen sickle cell anaemia subjects and fifteen apparently healthy individuals which served as control subjects. Five mililitres of blood sample was collected from the ante-cubital vein of each of the subjects, the serum was separated and used for analysis. The samples were analyzed for serum zinc, copper and iron levels using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The results obtained were statistically analyzed using independent t-test of SPSS version 21. Test with the probability of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study showed that sickle cell anaemia subjects had significantly lower (P < 0.05) serum copper level (75.85±6.05 μg/dl) than apparently healthy individuals (87.15±10.84 μg/dl). The serum zinc level of the sickle cell anaemia group (70.95±6.33 μg/dl) was also significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of the control group (78.40±6.49 μg/dl). On the other hand, there was no statistical difference (P>0.05) between the serum iron level of sickle cell anaemia subjects (92.65±10.51 μg/dl) and that of the control group (93.10±11.06 μg/dl). In conclusion, lower level found in copper and zinc was due to reduced reabsorption and disturbed metabolism due to sickling of red cells which can lead to severe complications.