Sickle Cell Trait in The Nonblack Population

To the Editor.—  Considerable interest continues, in the literature, on sickle cell trait in the nonblack population.¹ In a previous communication (224: 1762, 1973), I briefly summarized our experience in identifying sickle cell trait in nonblack Naval recruits. We have been screening all recruits (mainly from the eastern half of the United States) for sickle cell trait during the past 36 months (227:1405, 1974), and records have been reviewed for a 24-month interval. A total of 65,751 male and female recruits of all races were screened and those with positive screening tests for hemoglobin S were confirmed to be hemoglobin S-positive by hemoglobin electrophoresis. The incidence of the sickle cell trait among 7,986 black recruits remained at 8% with no significant difference between men and women. A total of 57,665 nonblack recruits (45,500 men and 12,165 women) were screened. Twenty-seven nonblack recruits (25 men and two women have been