Dermatoglyphics of the Sickle Cell Anemic (HbSS) and Normal (HbAA) Subjects: A Comparative Study of the Sub-Saharan African Population

Dermatoglyphics have a very wide range of application as in human identification, security purposes and predicting the future phenotype of diseases. Sickle cell anaemia is a very prevalent blood disorder, but there is no baseline data on dermatoglyphics of the people living with the condition among the Hausa ethnic group of Kano. The study was conducted in Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital Kano, in which the fingerprint features of 200 people living with sickle cell Anaemia were compared to 200 normal individuals. The frequency of fingerprint patterns, fingerprint ridge density in a 25mm2, and fingerprint ridge thickness were studied. An application system was used to capture the fingerprints through a fingerprint scanner device connected to the computer system via USB. Both radial and ulnar ridge density and thickness were obtained by the application. Independent sample T-test was used to compare the ridge density and thickness of the sickle cell patients and that of the normal group. Chi-square test was used to determine association between fingerprint patterns and sickle cell anaemia. The results showed no significant association between sickle cell anaemia and fingerprint patterns of all the digits of both hands in both sexes. However, people living with sickle cell anaemia were found to have higher ridge density than the normal group with significant difference seen in some of the digits in both sexes. Similarly, normal individuals had higher mean ridge thickness with significant difference seen in some of the digits in both sexes. The study showed that specific differences exist between people living with sickle cell anaemia and normal group and the data obtained can serve as a baseline for the fingerprint features of people living with sickle cell anaemia in Kano.

Key Words: Sickle cell Anaemia, Control, Dermatoglyphics, Comparison, Kano, Nigeria