Study Cites Disparity in Sickle Cell Deaths

Young black children in Florida appear to die from sickle cell disease at double the national rate, according to a new study. The research, reported in the government journal Public Health Reports, was based solely on death certificates and so could not explain the disparity between states. In contrast to Florida, death rates in Pennsylvania and Maryland were strikingly lower than the national average. “It’s reasonable for the people in Florida to be somewhat concerned,” said study author Dr. Harold Davis of the Food and Drug Administration. He also urged researchers to investigate sickle cell programs in Pennsylvania and Maryland because “you would think something must be going on right there.”