Incidence of anemia in older Koreans: community-based cohort study.
Most epidemiologic data are related to the prevalence of anemia, and there is little information regarding the incidence or etiology of newly diagnosed anemia in older people. The purpose of this study was to define the incidence and characteristics of anemia in the elderly population of Korea. Three hundred thirty-two independent, community-living, elderly persons aged 60 years and older were enrolled, and laboratory tests including iron profiles were performed. The mean age was 72+/-4.8 years and the mean hemoglobin was 13.4+/-1.1g/dl. During the follow-up period of 3 years, 24 subjects (3 males and 21 females) were newly diagnosed with anemia, which led to a 3-year incidence of 7.2% (24/332). Among the 24 subjects with new-onset anemia, iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was diagnosed in 5 subjects, while anemia of chronic disease (ACD) was detected in 8 subjects. Underlying illnesses were diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, renal insufficiency, hypothyroidism and malignancy. In those subjects with new-onset anemia, the serum iron, ferritin, transferrin saturation and albumin were lower than in the normal group. In conclusion, the 3-year incidence of anemia among Korean elderly people was determined to be 7.2%, and ACD was the most commonly defined cause of anemia.
Choi
Chul Won
CW
Division of Oncology-Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Guro Hospital, Korea University Medical Center, #97, Gurodong-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul 152-703, South Korea. kjs6651@kumc.or.kr
Lee
Juneyoung
J
Park
Kyong Hwa
KH
Choi
In Keun
IK
Kim
Seok Jin
SJ
Seo
Jae Hong
JH
Kim
Byung Soo
BS
Shin
Sang Won
SW
Kim
Yeul Hong
YH
Kim
Jun Suk
JS
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution