Geriatric Anemia

Abstract

Anemia is growing in importance as a public health issue and a biomedical research priority in the geriatric age group but data on the causes and prevalence is not substantial. World health organization (WHO) has defined anemia as hemoglobin concentration (Hb %) below 12 g/dL in women and below 13 g/dL in men. Although it was previously believed that decline in Hb levels might be a normal consequence of aging, later suggested that anemia does reflect underlying poor health and makes elders vulnerable to adverse outcomes. Geriatric anemia has been found to be prevalent in up to 21.1% of patients in Europe and 11.0% of men and 10.2% of women of 65 years and older in the US. There is little literature that explores the various causes of anemia and its association with socio-demographic profile with underlying diseases, hence lesser research has led anemia to go undiagnosed and untreated.