Methods
This is a cross-sectional study carried out in individuals diagnosed
with SCA genotypes (HbS-S) between 6 and 18 years old, from the
Pediatric Hematology Outpatient Clinic of Darcy Vargas Children
Hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The control group (CG) was composed by
healthy individuals matched for age and sex, recruited from educational
institutions in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The research was approved
by the Research Ethics Committee (Protocol number: 2.843.860). The
informed consent form for the study was signed by the legal guardians.
All participants signed the consent form and the parents or guardians
signed the informed consent form.
Individuals who had neurological or musculoskeletal diseases or did not
perform the tests properly were excluded, also those who were
hospitalized in the last four weeks. Individuals in the control group
who presented lung function < 80% of the predicted value were
also excluded.