A descriptive study of anaemia in the elderly at a tertiary care institute in Sri Lanka.

Abstract

Anaemia is a commonly encountered condition among the elderly population which calls for further evaluation to identify the cause and to prevent complications. To determine the prevalence, causes and complications related to anaemia among elderly patients admitted to two medical wards (15/16) of Colombo North (Teaching) Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka. Patients aged over>65 years admitted to the above wards between April -Sep 2020 and who had anaemia were included in the study. Clinical and nutritional data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Laboratory findings were extracted from hospital records. The majority of the patients were females (63.2%; n = 129). The mean age was 72.5 years (65 - 92 years). Most of the patients (62.3%; n = 127) were symptomatic for anaemia at the time of hospital admission. The majority of the participants (75.5%; n = 154) did not demonstrate any complications related to anaemia. The severity of the anaemia was moderate among more than half of the patients (52.5%; n=107). Anaemia of chronic disease (54.4%; n=111) was the commonest etiological category detected. The majority of the cases with anaemia of chronic disease were due to chronic renal insufficiency (73.9%; n=82). The severity of the anaemia increased significantly with the presence of chronic disease (p 0.030). Most patients in the present study had moderate anaemia whilst anaemia of chronic disease was the leading aetiological class contributor. Community-based studies are needed to understand the true burden of anaemia in the ageing population in Sri Lanka.