Ewha Med J.  2016 Jul;39(3):69-75. 10.12771/emj.2016.39.3.69.

Anemia in Individuals over Age 80: Unattended Issue in Clinical Practice

• Jeong YJ
• Cha JK
• Lee HJ
• Chae SL
• Huh HJ
• Chung JW
• Kim DY

• KMID: 2344894
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12771/emj.2016.39.3.69

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
To assess the current state of anemia evaluation in the elderly over 80 years of age.
METHODS
Patients who were more than 80 years old and visited Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital from April 2005 to February 2014 were included. Statistical analysis were assessed using the logistic regression model.
RESULTS
Total 548 patients, who had anemia according to WHO criteria, were identified. The median age was 85 years old (range, 82 to 99 years) and median hemoglobin level was 11.0 g/dL (range, 2.7 to 12.9 g/dL). Twenty-eight, 468, and 52 patients were classified as microcytic anemia, normocytic anemia, and macrocytic anemia, respectively. Among them, 397 patients (72.4%) did not undergo proper evaluation for the cause anemia i.e., 8 cases (28.5%) of microcytic anemia, 361 cases (77.1%) of normocytic anemia, and the 28 cases (53.84%) of 52 macrocytic anemia patients. The remaining 151 patients (27.6%) had completed the evaluation, and 24 patients (15.9%) were diagnosed as solid malignancies. In the assessment of iron deficiency anemia, hemoglobin levels, and age had no effect on whether or not to perform esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
CONCLUSION
This finding showed that physicians often neglected anemia in individuals over 80 years of age. Though these patients have limited life expectancy, physicians should carefully discriminate the sub-population who will be benefit from adequate evaluation and treatment.

Keyword

Anemia; Aged; 80 and over

MeSH Terms

Aged
Anemia*
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency
Anemia, Macrocytic
Endoscopy, Digestive System
Humans
Life Expectancy
Logistic Models

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Classification of anemia according to identified cause as shown by National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) III.

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