1. Original Scientific Paper Sickle cell disease and associated problems: Case study of Homozygous sicklers by J. Jhariya, A. N. Sharma and R. K. Gautam Abstract This paper is focused on the problems faced by homozygous individuals of sickle cell disease. In a survey of 500 household of 17 villages of district Mandla, a total of 2316 individuals were covered out of which 13 were found homozygous for the disorder; whereas 3 homozygous children were reported died preceding to one year of the survey. In depth case studies of these children were recorded. The highest age of surviving homozygous individual was 30 years. After 4-5 years of age their survival is very difficult and they require frequent blood transfusion. They face frequent episodes of various infections and unbearable pain. The findings are based on longitudinal and cross sectional study as well as empirical field investigation. It was found that the homozygous children have to face multiple problems, acute pain, priapism, alienation, frequent hospitalization, economic constraints. The families of homozygous children have to face frequent emotional shock as well as economic burden. The problem of homozygous sicklers can be categorized as clinical, educational, economic etc. and is a challenge for achieving the goal of human development. Further to understand the relationship of the prevalence of gene and Human Development, district and state wise gene (HbS) frequency were computed. The bivariate correlation analysis between the district wise prevalence of gene and human development index was found positive but insignificant (r2=0.065, p>0.8). At the same time, the correlation of prevalence of the HbS gene and human development index for 11 states was found negative and insignificant (r2=-0.237, p>0.5). It leads to conclude that there is no apparent correlation between the prevalence of gene and the human development in that particular region, although there is lack of sufficient data. Download Complete Article