Prevalence of anemia in nursing home for the aged in Brasilia/DF

• Author(s): Macedo,Victor Falcão ; Correia,Luana Oliveira ; Scoralick,Francisca Magalhães ; Piazzolla,Luciana Paganini ; Macêdo,Débora Lins Soares
• Date: 2011
• Origin: Oasisbr
• Subject(s): Prevalence, anemia, aged, nursing homes, long-term care.
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English

Description

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of anemia in an institutionalized geriatric population.
METHODS: Cross-sectional descriptive study among older adults nursing home residents, aged 60 years or older. Anemia was defined using World Health Organization criteria (hemoglobin < 13 g/dl for men and hemoglobin < 12 g/dl for women). Demographic, clinical and laboratory data obtained from medical records were analyzed by SPSS for Windows, version 17.0.
RESULTS: Of the 75 nursing home residents, 64 meet all inclusion criteria. Anemia prevalence was 29.7%: 26.1% in the women and 38.9% in the man. The major characteristics of anemia were normochromia with normocytosis, which occurred in 64.7% of cases. The mean age was 80.2 ± 8.9 years, 71.9% were women and 62.5% had dementia. The average time of living in the institution was around 37.5 months. Almost half of the subjects were underweight and 74.2% were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.
CONCLUSION: Anemia is a common condition in institutionalized elderly patients, and although generally mild, can be associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Future studies should evaluate the causes and the potential benefits of treatment in terms of quality of life, reduced morbidity and health economics.