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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffThe risk of inheriting sickle cell anemia comes down to genetics. For a baby to be born with sickle cell anemia, both parents must carry a sickle cell gene.
The gene is more common in families that come from Africa, India, the Mediterranean, Saudi Arabia, and South and Central America. In the United States, it most commonly affects blacks and Hispanics.
- Saunthararajah Y, et al. Sickle cell disease: Clinical features and management. In: Hoffman R, et al. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06715-0..X5001-8--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06715-0&uniqId=230100505-56. Accessed Jan. 24, 2011.
- Rees DC, et al. Sickle-cell disease. The Lancet. 2010;376:2018.
- Sickle cell anemia. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_All.html. Accessed Jan. 24, 2011.
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