Patterns of geriatric anemia: A hospital-based observational study in North India

Abstract

Background: Geriatric anemia is a global health problem because of its high prevalence and associated significant morbidity and mortality. Aim: The objectives of this study were to estimate the pattern of anemia in the elderly patients and the underlying etiology of anemia. Research Design and Methods: This was a hospital-based prospective observational study, conducted in patients aged 60 years and above at PGIMER, Chandigarh, a tertiary care center of North India. Anemia is defined as hemoglobin level less than 13 g/dl in men and 12 g/dl in women. Results: Among the 105 older patients with anemia, the mean value of hemoglobin was 8.8 ± 2.3 g/dl. The etiological distribution of anemia was iron deficiency in 26 patients (24.8%), chronic disease in 24 patients (22.9%), hematological disorders in 21 (20%), chronic kidney disease in 13 (12.4%), multifactorial in 8 (7.6%), vitamin B12 deficiency in 2 (1.9%), folate deficiency in 1 (0.9%), and hypothyroidism in 1 patient (0.9%). No etiology could be found in 9 patients (8.6%). 57.6% of the iron-deficient patients had upper gastrointestinal lesions and 30.7% had a nutritional cause. Common chronic diseases causing anemia were malignancy (36.6%) and liver disease (29.1%). The myelodysplastic syndrome was the commonest hematological disorder. 53.35% of the patients had normocytic anemia, 40% had microcytic anemia, and 6.6% had macrocytic anemia. Conclusions: In most of the cases, anemia in the elderly had a treatable cause. Thus, a thorough investigation including gastrointestinal endoscopy is warranted. Unexplained progressive or unresponsive anemia requires bone marrow examination.

A Cross Sectional Analysis of Etiology of Anemia Among Elderly Patients

“…In our study, hemoglobin levels decreased significantly with increasing age (Table 2) and normocytic anemia (66.4%) was the most common form, similar to previous studies (11,23). The prevalence of anemia increases after the age of 60 to 65 years and becomes more pronounced over the age of 80 (22).…”

Iron deficiency, fatigue and muscle strength and function in older hospitalized patients

“…Iron deficiency is relatively common and frequently diagnosed in older individuals. In a hospital-based prospective observational study among 105 older patients, iron deficiency was found in 26 (24.8%) patients [ 40 ]. In addition, results of a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of inpatients and outpatients aged ≥64 years demonstrated that 21.1% of the patients were anemic in which 14.4% and 28.2% had absolute and functional iron deficiency, respectively [ 41 ].…”

Retrospective study on prevalence of severe anemia in pregnant women and its outcome

“…11,18,19 The prevalence of anemia of 47.3% was observed in the under 24 years age group which is comparable with the study by Sharma et al (38%) whereas in a study by Suryanarayana et al in Kashmir the prevalence of anemia of 93.67% (Table 3). 12,19 Early age at marriage and poor iron stores contributes to high prevalence in this age group. A prevalence of 58% was observed in booked patients which could be due to noncompliance with iron therapy and lack of frequent hemoglobin estimation.…”