[Association of anemia with nutrition in elderly patients]

We analyzed the data for 59 cases in which elderly patients receiving home medical care presented with anemia. Our results demonstrated that the cause of anemia was iron deficiency, chronic inflammation, or chronic kidney disease in 75% of the patients, and that anemia was improved in more than 80% of the patients after appropriate therapeutic treatment. We also found so-called senile anemia with no particular causes in 20% of the patients, and in some of them, both nutrition and anemia have improved. We concluded that not only the treatment of anemia, but also the improvement of nutrition, is important in elderly patients with anemia.