[Iron deficiency anemia in people aged 65 years and older: a cohort study of 102 patients]

Iron deficiency anemia is a common hematological abnormality in the older people. The aim of this study is to determine the clinical and biological characteristics and causes of the iron deficiency anemia in elderly patients.

We performed a retrospective study of 102 patients aged 65 years and older who were hospitalized for iron deficiency anemia in the internal Medicine Department of Mahdia University Hospital, over a 8-year period (January 2005 to December 2012).

A total of 184 patients aged 65 years or older were hospitalized for anemia during the study period. Iron deficiency was diagnosed in 102 (55.4%) of the patients, 58 were men (56.9%) and 44 were women (43.1%). The mean age was 74.7 +/- 6.3 years. The mean hemoglobin level was 7 +/- 1.7 g/dl. At least one cause of anemia was diagnosed in 90.2% of cases. A gastrointestinal bleeding was the most common etiology (70.5%). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and anticoagulants intake were reported in 19.6% of cases. Multiple causes of gastrointestinal bleeding were identified in 12.7% of patients. Chronic gastrointestinal ulcers were the most frequent etiology (25.5%). The frequency of gastrointestinal cancers was 11.7%.

Iron deficiency was the first cause of anemia in the elderly in our study. Occult bleeding from gastrointestinal lesions was the commonest cause and iron deficiency anemia in the elderly caused by an unknown etiology was rare.