title: What is the prognosis of mild normocytic anaemia in older people?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is reduced survival for people with all types of anaemia and it has been shown that there is a low yield from investigations for older people with normocytic anaemia. However, the longer-term outcomes of people with mild normocytic anaemia are not known.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the 5-year prognosis of older people with mild normocytic anaemia, compared with non-anaemic controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective cohort study, with some retrospective data collection, comparing 52 people aged > or =65 years (haemoglobin 100-119 g/L; mean cell volume 80-99 fL) without an obvious cause at presentation with 52 non-anaemic controls. The incidence of death, new malignancies and significant illnesses was compared between the two groups, 5 years later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anaemic patients were less likely to be living at home at baseline. Although survival was lower for the anaemic group at all follow-up times, these differences were not significantly different. Over 5 years, there were no significant differences between groups in the types of problems that developed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A mild normocytic anaemia in older people, in the absence of an obvious cause, is not associated with significant differences in outcomes but is associated with poorer independence and a trend to lower survival. We suggest it may therefore be a marker of frailty in older people.
authors.affiliation: The Princess Margaret Hospital and Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand. tim.wilkinson@chmeds.ac.nz
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality*; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins