Race, age, and pernicious anemia

We have described a 22-year-old black man with pernicious anemia, classically considered a disease of middle-aged and elderly Northern Europeans. It is considered rare in non-caucasians and children. The majority of very young patients have been considered to have the congenital form of pernicious and anemia, characterized by absence of intrinsic factor with normal gastric mucosa and acid production. We have seen no patients with this type of the disease. Furthermore, all five patients under 25 years of age and eight of nine under 35 were black. We found no racial difference in the incidence of pernicious anemia, but we believe it may occur at a younger age in black patients.