Prevalence of psychological symptoms among adults with sickle cell disease in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

Michael Tetteh Anim,Joseph Osafo,Felix Yirdong

doi:10.1186/s40359-016-0162-z

Michael Tetteh Anim, Joseph Osafo + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-016-0162-z

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Journal: BMC psychology	Publication Date: Nov 10, 2016
Citations: 14	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious research revealed high prevalence of psychological symptoms among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients in the West and Europe. In some Black SCD populations such as Nigeria and Jamaica, anxiety and depression had low prevalence rates compared to Europe. With difficulty locating research data on the prevalence of psychological symptoms in Ghana, this study aimed at exploring psychological symptoms among adults with SCD in a Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana.MethodsTwo hundred and one participants (males 102 and females 99) who were HbSS (n = 131) and HbSC (n = 70), aged 18 years and above were purposively recruited. Using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) in a cross-sectional survey, the research answered questions about the prevalence of psychological symptoms. It also examined gender and genotype differences in psychological symptoms scores.ResultsResults indicated that adults with SCD had non-distress psychological symptoms scores. Although paranoid ideation as a psychological symptom indicated “a little bit” score, its prevalence was only 1 %. The prevalence of psychological symptoms as indexed by the Positive Symptom Total (PST) was 10 %. Anxiety, hostility, and depression were psychological symptoms with low scores. Furthermore, except psychoticism scores, males did not differ significantly from females in other psychological symptoms. On the contrary, HbSS participants differed significantly, reporting more psychological symptoms than their HbSC counterparts.ConclusionsThe study concluded that there was low prevalence of psychological symptoms among adults with SCD in this Ghanaian study. Although psychological symptoms distress scores were not observed among study participants at this time, females differed significantly by experiencing more psychoticism symptoms than males. HbSS participants also differed significantly by experiencing more depression, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, and additional symptoms such as poor appetite, trouble falling asleep, thoughts of dying, and feeling guilty, than their HbSC counterparts. Implications for further study and clinical practice were discussed.

Highlights

Previous research revealed high prevalence of psychological symptoms among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients in the West and Europe
Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, and Gabon have prevalence between 20 and 30 % while it is as high as 45 % in some parts of Uganda [1,2,3]
To answer the first research question, descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations were calculated for the scale and subscale scores of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)

Summary

Introduction

Previous research revealed high prevalence of psychological symptoms among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients in the West and Europe. In some Black SCD populations such as Nigeria and Jamaica, anxiety and depression had low prevalence rates compared to Europe. According to the WHO [1] the disease upsets hemoglobin. This results in frequent pain and medical problems that in turn negatively affect the patients’ education, employment, and psychosocial development [1]. The WHO further noted the highest prevalence of hemoglobin AS in Africa as occurring “between latitudes 150 North and 200 South, ranging between 10 and 40 % of the population in some areas. Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, and Gabon have prevalence between 20 and 30 % while it is as high as 45 % in some parts of Uganda [1,2,3]

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