Clinical depression in children and adolescents with sickle cell anaemia: influencing factors in a resource-limited setting

BACKGROUND: Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is the commonest monogenic haematologic disorder resulting from the inheritance of homozygous mutant haemoglobin genes from both parents. Some factors have been identified as important in explaining the variability in depression in sickle cell anaemia (SCA). Information on this is limited in a resource-limited setting like Nigeria. This study aims to determine factors which influence depression in children and adolescents with sickle cell anaemia in a resource-limited setting. METHODS: Systematic random sampling technique was used in this cross-sectional study to select children and adolescents aged 7-17 years at the weekly sickle cell clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Nigeria. Pretested, structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic and disease severity data while depression was assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Age and educational level had significant positive linear relationships with depression (r = 0.253, p = 0.02; r = 0.225, p = 0.04 respectively) while gender (χ2 = 0.531, p = 0.466), socioeconomic status (χ2 = 0.451, p = 0.798) and disease severity (χ2 = 0.422, p = 0.810) had no relationship with depression in children and adolescents with SCA. CONCLUSION: Depression in children and adolescents with SCA increased with increasing age and educational level. Psychological evaluation should be integrated into routine assessment of children with SCA during their follow up visits as they get older and progress in class.