A Study of Clinical and Etiological Profile of Anaemia in Geriatric Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital
Keywords:
Anemia, elderly, geriatricsAbstract
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. Subjects and Methods: This was a hospital-based prospective observational study, conducted in patients aged 60 years and above at SSIMS, T. Begur. Anemia is defined as hemoglobin level less than 13 g/dl in men and 12 g/dl in women. Results: Among the 100 older patients with anemia, the mean value of hemoglobin was 8.9 ± 2.3 g/dl. The etiological distribution of anemia was iron deficiency in 25 patients (25%), chronic disease in 22 patients (22%), hematological disorders in 20 (20%), chronic kidney disease in 12 (12%), multifactorial in 8 (8%), vitamin B12 deficiency in 3 (3%), folate deficiency in 1 (1%), and hypothyroidism in 1 patient (1%). No etiology could be found in 8 patients (8%). 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. Conclusion: 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.
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