Anemia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Anemia, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, diet, treatment, causes.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in children affected by sickle-cell disease and their parents.

Hofmann M, de Montalembert M, Beauquier-Maccotta B, de Villartay P, Golse B

Department of Child Psychiatry, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, France.

Children affected with sickle-cell disease experience painful crises that may be life threatening, or felt as if they were. We evaluated by semistructured interviews and questionnaires the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder in 11 children affected by sickle-cell disease and having suffered at least one hospitalization for a painful crisis, and in their parents (10 mothers, 1 father). Three children (27%) and four parents (40%) were diagnosed with the disorder. It was not correlated to the disease severity but, in parents, to a feeling of powerlessness over the child's illness (P = 0.04).

Published 11 January 2007 in Am J Hematol, 82(2): 171-2.
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