Reproductive Health and Sickle Cell Disease

How is reproductive health affected in people with sickle cell disease?


Men

  • It is common for men with sickle cell disease to have priapism (painful erections). Overtime, this can cause other erectile problems and problems with general sexual function. They may also have low sperm count or sperm do not work normally. Men who have these symptoms also feel sadness, embarrassment, and fear which can cause them to not seek medical care (1).

Women

  • Once a month when a woman is not pregnant, the hormone levels in her body change causing bleeding. We call this a menstrual cycle (period). Some women may have pain episodes due to their sickle cell disease around the time of these hormone changes (2). Women with sickle cell disease may also have trouble during pregnancy including more frequent pain episodes, high blood pressure, early labor, and smaller, babies. Some women may even have trouble getting pregnant, and this can be a bigger problem for those who have had curative therapy (3). The number of years a woman may be able to have children (fertility lifespan) may also be shorter in women who have sickle cell disease compared to those who do not (4).

We hope to understand how curative therapy impacts reproductive and sexual health. The COALESCE STUDY will include surveys to ask men and women about their reproductive and sexual health before and after transplant.

References

  1. Idris IM, Abba A, Galadanci JA, et al. Men with sickle cell disease experience greater sexual dysfunction when compared with men without sickle cell disease. Blood Adv. Jul 28 2020;4(14):3277-3283. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002062

  2. Sharma D, Day ME, Stimpson SJ, et al. Acute Vaso-Occlusive Pain is Temporally Associated with the Onset of Menstruation in Women with Sickle Cell Disease. J Womens Health (Larchmt). Feb 2019;28(2):162-169. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2018.7147

  3. Ghafuri DL, Stimpson SJ, Day ME, James A, DeBaun MR, Sharma D. Fertility challenges for women with sickle cell disease. Expert Rev Hematol. Oct 2017;10(10):891-901. https://doi.org/10.1080/17474086.2017.1367279

  4. Pecker LH, Sharma D, Nero A, et al. Knowledge gaps in reproductive and sexual health in girls and women with sickle cell disease. Br J Haematol. Sep 2021;194(6):970-979. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.17658