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Eugene Roth, Jr, MD

JAMA. 1985;253(15):2259-2260.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In the course of human evolution, it seems that the individual who possessed one sickle gene and one normal β-globin gene was favored with enhanced resistance to malaria. In modern Western society, the bearer of a sickle gene no longer can claim enhanced fitness, but it is a firm medical teaching that the individual with sickle cell trait is asymptomatic, with only minor exceptions, and has a normal life span.¹ Thus, sickle cell trait is not to be regarded as a disease. This doctrine applies to some 8% to 10% of the black population of the United States and smaller percentages of Puerto Ricans, Italians, Greeks, Arabs, and others whose ancestry can be traced to parts of the world where hemoglobinopathies are found.

Every so often, this doctrine is challenged by reports of morbidity in sickle cell trait individuals. All challenges to what we know to be "true" are . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York

Footnotes
Address editorial communications to the Editor, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610.

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