Frequency of Anemia among Patients of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Anemia of inflammation is the common manifestation of chronic inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. There is a lack of local data regarding this heath issue so we conducted this study order to assess the frequency of anemia among RA patients. Our results will help clinicians to manage anemia actively with chronic inflammatory disorders in our clinical setups. Objective: To evaluate the frequency of anemia of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: Both male and female patients having age 40-70 years with confirmed rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled. Patients with history of any previous blood loss or any co-morbidities like CLD, CRF and thalassemia were ruled out. Blood sample drawn from each patient was sent for laboratory measurement of hemoglobin levels thus indicating the presence or absence of anemia. Results: Mean age was 50.85 ± 9.07 years. Out of the 79 patients, 63 (79.75%) were female and 16 (20.25%) were females. Frequency of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis was found in 64 (81.01%) patients, whereas there was no anemia in 15 (18.99%) patients. Conclusions: It was concluded that anemia is a common disorder and its frequency is very high among patients of rheumatoid arthritis.