Homozygote drepanocytosis: Ferric status and inflammation in world and Africa: Review article and meta analysis

Background and Aims Major sickle cell syndromes are subjected to a high frequency of hemolysis, infections, oxidative stress, and vasooclusive crises which promote inflammation and iron balance disorders. We aimed to systematically review and analyze the studies in this patients addressing in general, and Africa in particular. Methods The systematic review of published articles in the Pubmed and Google Scholar databases was carried out according to the recommendations of the PRISMA model. The case‐control articles have been included. The data extracted from the articles were analyzed using statistical software R. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was used to assess the extent of the disease on the different variables studied. Results At the end, 128 articles were obtained; but only 33 were elligible for meta‐analysis. A SMD of −1.79 was obtained for hemoglobin between the sickle cell patients and the controls due to the deviation from the overall mean hemoglobin in the cases (8 ± 2 g/dL) and in controls (13 ± 3 g/dL). Sickle cell disease showed a significant extent on ferritin [SMD = 2.61; (95% confidence interval, CI: 2.39–2.83); (p