Study reveals ‘persistent life expectancy shortfall’ among those with sickle cell disease
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
An analysis of individuals in the United States with public insurance showed that those with sickle cell disease died more than 20 years earlier than the average person.
Researchers calculated an average life expectancy of 52.6 years for publicly insured individuals with sickle cell disease.
By comparison, CDC statistics suggest an average life expectancy in the U.S. of 79.3 years for women and 73.5 years for men.
The study results highlight a “persistent life expectancy shortfall” among individuals with sickle cell disease and help quantify the premature mortality burden they face, Boshen Jiao, PhD, MPH, and colleagues concluded.
Individuals insured by Medicare for end-stage renal disease or disabilities, as well as those dually insured by Medicaid and Medicare, had poorer survival outcomes, investigators determined.
Jiao — a researcher in the Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy and Economics Institute at University of Washington at the time of the study but now a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — spoke with Healio about the findings and their clinical implications.
References:
- Jiao B, et al. Blood Adv. 2023;doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2022009202.
- Quantifying the life expectancy gap for people living with sickle cell disease (press release). Available at: https://www.hematology.org/newsroom/press-releases/2023/quantifying-the-life-expectancy-gap-for-people-living-with-sickle-cell-disease. Published March 16, 2023. Accessed March 27, 2023,
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts