title: Anemia and new-onset congestive heart failure in the general Medicare population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anemia is associated with disease severity and prognosis for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). It is unknown whether anemia is associated with the development of new-onset CHF in the elderly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This retrospective longitudinal cohort study used the Medicare 5% database. In the incident analysis, the study sample comprised subjects without CHF in 1999 (n = 1,063,495); the main exposure variable evaluated was the presence or absence of anemia in 1999; and the primary study outcome was the occurrence of new-onset CHF. The prevalence of chronic anemia and CHF in 1999 was 5.0% and 9.9%, respectively. The incidence of new-onset CHF in 2000 in those with and those without anemia in 1999 was 12.3% and 5.9%, respectively, corresponding to an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.29 ( P < .001), a value intermediate between the hazard ratios of 1.13 ( P < .001), and 1.76 ( P < .001) associated with hypertension and atherosclerotic heart disease, respectively. Anemia also was associated with death in the year after new-onset CHF (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.28; P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anemia in the Medicare population is associated with the diagnosis and prognosis of new-onset CHF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404, USA.
authors.forename: Peter E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Sandgren
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Solid
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Gilbertson
authors.forename: Allan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Foley
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology