Chernetsky Aliza, Sofer Orit, Rafael Carol, Ben-Israel Joshua
Shoham Geriatric Center, Pardes Hanna, Israel.
Harefuah. 2002 Jul;141(7):591-4, 667.
Anemia is a common problem in the elderly, but its etiology in this age group is not well known, nor is its correlation with the mental and functional states. The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence of anemia in a large institutionalized geriatric population, to diagnose the etiology, and to analyze the correlation of anemia with the nutritional, mental and functional status.
The study was performed in a 970 bed multilevel geriatric complex, from which 481 residents were randomly chosen. Their mean age was 81.4 +/- 8.7 years, and 46 of these residents were independent, 162 frail, and 273 nursing home patients.
High prevalence of anemia (31.4%) was found, but, in more than half of the cases, the anemia was mild. The most common diagnosis was anemia of chronic disorders (65.6%), followed by anemia of chronic renal failure (13.2%). Anemia primarily due to iron, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency was found to be only 4%. In 15.9% of these cases the main cause of anemia could not be resolved. No correlation with the nutritional or cognitive states was found, but the functional state was highly and significantly inversely correlated with the presence of anemia.
Anemia in institutionalized elderly is mostly the consequence of other chronic diseases. Further studies are required to determine whether a low functional state is an independent risk factor for anemia in old age.
贫血是老年人中的常见问题，但其在该年龄组中的病因尚不明确，与精神和功能状态的相关性也不清楚。本研究的目的是确定大型老年机构化人群中贫血的患病率，诊断病因，并分析贫血与营养、精神和功能状态的相关性。
研究在一个拥有970张床位的多层次老年综合机构中进行，从该机构中随机选取了481名居民。他们的平均年龄为81.4±8.7岁，其中46名居民生活能够自理，162名身体虚弱，273名是养老院患者。
发现贫血患病率较高（31.4%），但在一半以上的病例中，贫血为轻度。最常见的诊断是慢性病贫血（65.6%），其次是慢性肾衰竭贫血（13.2%）。仅发现4%的贫血主要是由于铁、维生素B12或叶酸缺乏所致。在15.9%的病例中，贫血的主要原因无法明确。未发现与营养或认知状态相关，但功能状态与贫血的存在呈高度显著负相关。
机构化老年人中的贫血大多是其他慢性疾病的结果。需要进一步研究以确定低功能状态是否是老年贫血的独立危险因素。
