Anemia in the Elderly: Epidemiological, Clinical and Etiological Aspects in Internal Medicine at the Point "G" University Hospital

Introduction: Anaemia is a condition that is often underestimated and insufficiently treated in the elderly. It is the most common haematological problem in this age group, with 30% of aetiologies remaining unexplained. In our context, few patients benefit from investigation, hence this study to assess the state of anaemia. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study from January 2011 to December 2012 in the internal medicine department of the Point "G" University Hospital. All hospitalised patients aged 65 and over with anaemia according to the WHO definition were included. Results: Among 199 elderly subjects hospitalised during our study period, 95 (47.73%) presented with anemia. The sex ratio was 1.71. The mean age of the patients was 73.39 ± 6.65 years. Weight loss (82.1%), polypnea (56.5%) and dyspnea (21.1%) were the predominant clinical manifestations. The mean haemoglobin level was 8.93 g/dl, with extremes of 3.1 and 12.5 g/dl. Aregenerative normochromic anemia (37.9%) was the most common. Inflammatory anemia was the main cause of anemia in the elderly (58.6%), followed by multifactorial anemia (20.7%), renal failure (6.9%) and unknown causes (6.9%). Conclusion: Anemia is a frequent condition in elderly patients in internal medicine, dominated by inflammatory causes.