Adiponectin levels during steady state and vaso-occlusive crisis in Nigerian children with sickle cell anaemia

Abstract

Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is a chronic inflammatory hemoglobinopathy marked by recurrent vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) and end-organ damage. Adiponectin, an adipokine with anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing properties, is well-studied in metabolic disorders but remains underexplored in SCA. This study assessed serum adiponectin levels in Nigerian children with SCA during steady state and VOC. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 50 children with homozygous sickle cell genotype (HbSS) and 46 age- and sex-matched healthy controls with normal adult haemoglobin genotype (HbAA). Adiponectin levels were measured using ELISA, and group comparisons were performed. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess associations between adiponectin and clinical variables. Children with SCA had significantly higher adiponectin levels (median 3.2 µg/mL, IQR 2.20–4.38) compared to healthy controls (0.4 µg/mL, IQR 0.3–0.6; p<0.0001). Among the SCA group, those in VOC had higher adiponectin concentrations than those in steady state (median 4.00 µg/mL vs. 2.15 µg/mL; p<0.0001). These differences remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and socio-economic status (p<0.001). Adiponectin levels are elevated in children with SCA, particularly during VOC, suggesting its potential role as a dynamic biomarker of disease activity. These findings contribute to understanding the inflammatory profile of paediatric SCA and support further research into adiponectin as a non-invasive marker in clinical monitoring.