ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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Year : 2017 | Volume
: 30
| Issue : 3 | Page : 794-799 |
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Anemia among the elderly attending a family health center, Menoufia University, Egypt
Enshad Badawy MSc , Hala M Shaeen, Nagwa N Hegazy, Enshad E Mohammed
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin Elkom, Egypt
Correspondence Address:
Enshad Badawy Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia, 32511 Egypt
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/mmj.mmj_479_16
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Objective
The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of anemia and the associated cognitive and nutritional status among the elderly attending the Munshat Sultan Family Health Center.
Background
Anemia is a common health problem with serious consequences among the elderly. Multiple studies demonstrate that anemia is an independent risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality among the elderly.
Patients and methods
This case-controlled, cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 elderly persons of both sexes recruited from Munshat Sultan Family Health Center, Menoufia district, Menoufia governorate, Egypt. Initially, the sample size was calculated to be 163, which was then increased to 200. All participants underwent a comprehensive medical history and clinical evaluation, and then complete blood count was measured, and anemia was defined according to the WHO criteria (hemoglobin level <13 g/dl in men and <12 g/dl in women).
Results
The study revealed that the prevalence of anemia was 17.5% among the participants (19.3% among men and 16.7% among women), 16% had mild anemia, and 1.5% had moderate anemia, which significantly increased with age in the anemic group compared with the nonanemic group. Anemia increased significantly among participants with a history of blood loss and intake of NSAIDs (P = 0.01 and 0.003, respectively). The impact of anemia on functional status showed a significant difference between anemic and nonanemic groups as regards instrumental activity of daily living; moreover, there was a significant correlation between anemia and minimental state examination (P < 0.001), with worse performance among the anemic ones.
Conclusion
Anemia represented a significant health problem among the elderly with bad drawbacks on their functional level and cognitive function. |
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