| Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder, usually diagnosed at birth in which red blood cells carry atypical hemoglobin. Dysfunctional eating and more specifically, pica, has been found in children with SCD. Dysfunctional eating, including pica, may lead to hospitalization, surgeries, and other harmful medical consequences. There is a current need for standardized assessment tools to identify eating and feeding problems in this population. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the efficacy of an assessment screener developed to examine parent and child report of dysfunctional eating habits in youths with SCD. Age and gender matched clinical (those with SCD and pica symptoms) and non-clinical (those with SCD without pica symptoms) children (total of 4 children in each group) and their primary caregivers completed self and caregiver report screeners to identify pica and dysfunctional eating behaviors in children and adolescents with SCD. Based on symptoms of pica as outlined in the DSM-5, the screener was sensitive in identifying chewing versus swallowing non-food items and was found to be efficacious in determining a pica diagnosis. Unexpectedly, children and caregivers in both clinical and non-clinical groups reported the chewing of non-food items even without a diagnosis of pica. Qualitative results of the screener indicate that children with SCD and pica demonstrated more dysfunctional eating habits than those diagnosed with SCD but not pica.;Keywords: pica, sickle cell disease, screener, dysfunctional eating. |
