Anemia in the Elderly: Frequency and Etiologies at University Hospital Center of Point G

Abstract

Introduction: Older people are exposed to particular health problems that must be taken into account, including anemia defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in people aged 65 and over hemoglobin < 13 g/dl in men and < 12 g/dl in women. Objectives: To determine the frequency of anemia, to describe its clinical and paraclinical aspects, and to determine the etiologies. Material and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with prospective data collection that took place in the Department of Internal Medicine of the Point G CHU in Mali from January 1st, 2018 to August 31st, 2018, covering all elderly patients. At least 65 years old hospitalized and/or having consulted and presenting with anemia. Anemia was defined as Hb < 13 g/dl in men and < 12 g/dl in women (WHO definition). Biological markers were collected at admission. Results: Anemia was observed in 42 patients in 160 elderly patients, a prevalence of 26%, the age of our patients ranged from 65 to 90 years. The sex ratio was 1.33. Fifty percent (50%) of the patients had high blood pressure as antecedents. Weight loss was found in 69% of cases; 47.6% of patients had dyspnea on admission. Tachycardia was the physical sign associated with anemia present in 85.7% of them. The mean hemoglobin level was 9.2 g/dl ± 2.03: thus 50% of the subjects had microcytic and or hypochromic anemia. The etiologies found were infectious in 31.0% of cases, inflammatory in 31.0% of cases, renal in 14.2% of cases. Chronic hemorrhage, acute haemorrhage, hemolysis accounted for 2.4% each. We observed 9.5% of unexplained causes. Conclusion: The frequency of anemia is high. Nearly half of the geriatric population has anemia. The lack of means and the nonperformance of the technical platform to perform all examinations in the etiological research of anemia have a significant impact on the rate of unexplained anemias.