[Anemia in the elderly].
We measured red blood cell counts, hemoglobin levels, hematocrit values, serum iron levels, total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin levels in 364 elderly subjects in the eighth decade, who consisted of 283 subjects (171 males, 112 females) living in their own homes and 81 subjects (28 males, 53 females) living in an old-age home. The mean values of RBC, Hb, Ht, SI, s-Ft in both male and female subjects living in their own homes were 469 X 10(4)/microliters vs 439 X 10(4)/microliters, 14.6 g/dl vs 13.3 g/dl 44.3% vs 40.6%, 95.6 micrograms/dl vs 84.8 micrograms/dl, 50.2 ng/ml vs 42.6 ng/ml, respectively. On the other hand, the mean values of RBC, Hb, Ht, SI, s-Ft in both male and female subjects living in an old-age home were 421 X 10(4)/microliters vs 390 X 10(4)/microliters, 13.8 g/dl vs 12.6 g/dl, 39.9% vs 36.7%, 74.2 micrograms/dl vs 58.6 micrograms/dl, 98.8 ng/ml vs 69.1 ng/ml, respectively. All erythrocyte parameters were significantly lower in females than in males in both groups, and significantly lower in subjects living in an old-age home than in subjects living in their own homes. The erythrocyte parameters of subjects living in their own homes showed little difference compared with those of normal young adults. These results suggest that a sedentary lifestyle in the elderly people contribute to the tendency to have anemia and this is considered to relate to age-associated pathology such as inflammation. As anemia in elderly people often follows a underlying illness, we must always give attention to the factors which cause anemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Ohhara
Y
Y
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Hokkaido University, School of Medicine.
Mae
Y
Y
Sakurada
K
K
Miyazaki
T
T
Kurosawa
M
M
Imamura
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged