Prevalence of Anaemia in Geriatric Population with Analysis of Associated Co-morbidities: a Hospital Based Study

Anaemia in the elderly population is more commonly observed and is often multifactorial, with multiple factors contributing to the problem in an individual patient ².

This study was done to evaluate the prevalence of anaemia in geriatric population and to analyze its associated co-morbidities.

This was a hospital based study conducted at haematology unit, Department of Pathology, JJM Medical College, Davangere, India. This study was done over a period of one year. 100 patients over the age of 65 years of either gender attending the outpatient departments of the hospital who were found to be anaemic on clinical examination were included in the study. These patients were further evaluated for associated co-morbidities.

In the present study, a total of 100 (hundred) cases were included, out of which 51(51%) cases were males and 49(49%) cases were females. Majority of the cases i.e. 69(69%) were in 65–74 years age group. Majority were normocytic anemia was found to be the most common type (58), followed by microcytic anemia (33), macrocytic anemia (7) and pancytopenia (2).

Anemia is a significant problem in elderly patients and it should not be simply considered as a process of aging. Evaluating the underlying etiological factors of anemia in geriatric population aids in the early treatment of the same which in turn helps in improving the overall outcome and quality of life.