Anemia Raises Risk of Decline in the Elderly

A study has found that anemia doubles the risk of an older person developing serious physical decline. The finding was reported in the August 1, 2003, issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

The study also found that older people who do not yet have anemia but whose blood tests are above the cutoff point for diagnosing anemia are 1.5 times more likely to experience physical decline than people who have normal blood hemoglobin levels.

Investigators followed a group of 1,146 people, 71 and older, for more than four years, assessing their ability to perform three tasks. These were standing balance, a timed eight-foot walk, and ability to rise from a chair. Points awarded were added together to create a 0-12 overall score. These were then correlated with hemoglobin levels. By the end of the study, 346 people had substantial decreases. Those who had anemia dropped an average of 2.3 points on the scale, while those with borderline anemia dipped an average of 1.8 points. Women with anemia showed the greatest decline, followed by women with borderline anemia.

"Although no study yet shows that treating anemia in older people reduces the incidence of physical decline, our study certainly suggests that this may be the case,” said Brenda Penninx, Ph.D., of Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Winston-Salem, NC, USA), who led the study. "Anemia deserves clinical attention.”




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