Effects of Vitamin C Supplementation on Sickle Cell Disease

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is the general name for a group of disorders that affect haemoglobin, the red pigment in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. Fortunately, Vitamin C has been found to be very vital in improving and sustaining health. This study sought to determine the effect of vitamin C supplementation on the blood pressure and blood count in sickle cell patients. The study was a randomized double blind, placebo –controlled study. The treatment group received 300mg of vitamin C per day for 3 months. The data of 60 subjects were analysed. Vitamin C supplementation increased the mean haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit of the subjects with SC genotype by 2.4% and 2.5% respectively compared to baseline (even though not statistically significant). There was a statistically significant increase in the Mean Copuscular Haemoglobin Concentration of the subjects with SC genotype on vitamin C (from 29.61 to 31.32 g/dl) compared to those on placebo (from 30.44 to 28.5 g/dl) (P = 0.01). Vitamin C supplementation therefore has some beneficial effects on some full blood count parameters of sickle cell patients with SC genotype.