Fig. 1

Comparison of characteristics and complications of sickle cell disease vs. geriatrics. *Individuals with SCD have a shorter life expectancy [3, 4], avascular necrosis of the bone [76], vaso-occlusive pain crises [10, 77], asplenic/splenectomy [10], increased pulmonary hypertension [78], leg ulcer [10], lower risk of solid tumors [79], more likely to have younger children that are still dependents, and there are few validated functional assessment tools for this population [80]. ^†Both geriatric populations and individuals with SCD have functional decline/disability, cognitive impairment [29, 61], silent cerebral ischemia [52, 61], vision loss [81, 82], hearing loss [11, 82], osteoporosis [76, 83], vitamin D deficiency [76, 83], joint replacement [10], renal disease [10, 84], heart failure [77, 78], chronic pain [10, 85], a higher risk of myeloid malignancies compared to the general population [79, 86], high rates of depression [59, 87], and increased VTE risk [88, 89]. ^††Geriatric populations’ life expectancy 70–80 years [90], osteoarthritis [91], institutionalization, polypharmacy [74], experience falls [33], coronary artery disease [77], increased risk of solid tumor [92], have older children (non-dependents), and multiple functional assessment tools [26]