Increasing evidence indicates that anemia is common in the elderly population, but few studies have assessed the association of anemia with clinical outcomes, such as illness and death, according to background information in the article. Anemia is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a hemoglobin concentration of less than 12 g/dL (grams per one tenth liter) for women and less than 13 g/dL for men.
Neil A. Zakai, M.D., of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, compared the association of hemoglobin concentration and anemia status with subsequent death over the course of eleven years in elderly adults living in four U.S. communities. Hemoglobin concentrations were determined for participants recruited between 1989 and 1993. Participants were contacted biannually; telephone and clinic examinations were conducted alternately. Deaths were reviewed and classified as cardiovascular or noncardiovascular. Complete follow-up was available through June 2001 for this analysis.
Hemoglobin concentration was analyzed in two ways: by dividing the participants' baseline hemoglobin into five equal levels and by the WHO criteria for anemia. Based on the WHO criteria for anemia, 498 individuals were anemic on enrollment (8.5 percent of the 5,797 included in the analysis), the researchers report. The hemoglobin concentration for the 1,205 individuals in the lowest fifth was higher than the WHO criteria for anemia, and 41.3 percent of these 1,205 people did qualify as anemic by WHO standards.
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