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Prevalence of anemia and its impact on the state of frailty in elderly people living in the community: SADEM study

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Abstract

Anemia represents a global health problem that negatively impacts quality of life in elderly population; however, its impact on the geriatric syndrome of frailty is unclear. We examined the prevalence of anemia among elderly and sought a relationship between hemoglobin and the phenotype of frailty. Baseline hemoglobin quintiles and anemia were assessed in relation to frailty status in a prospective study with 1,933 older community-dwelling adults enrolled in the Study on Aging and Dementia in Mexico (SADEM). Logistic regression was used to model the relationship between frailty and Hb, adjusting for risk factors of frailty, sociodemographic data, cognitive decline, chronic diseases, and some risky habits. Prevalence of frailty was 8.3 %. Frailty risk was highest at the lowest hemoglobin quintile (<14.3 g/dL for men; <13.3 g/dL for women), and 160 (8.3 %) were anemic (<13 g/dL for men; <12 g/dL for women). The relationship between frailty and Hb levels, adjusted for age and sex, observed in the first and fifth quintiles, compared with the fourth quintile, were 1.53 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.46–1.60) and 1.05 (95 % CI, 1.01–1.15). After multivariate adjustment, the odds ratios (ORs) were 1.23 (95 % CI, 1.17–1.13) and 1.06 (95 % CI, 1.01–1.11). The association was not diminished by risk factors for frailty (body mass index (BMI), comorbidity, cognitive decline, smoking, alcohol consumption, etc.). In community-dwelling older adults, low hemoglobin concentrations and anemia were independently associated with increased frailty risk. This suggests that mild anemia and low Hb levels are independent, modifiable risk factors for frailty.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by grants from SSA/IMSS/ISSSTE-CONACYT (México), SALUD-2009-C01-114716, and the Fund for the Promotion of Health Research, Mexican Institute of Social Security, FIS/IMSS/PROT/G10/824.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiologic and Health Service Research Unit, Aging Area, Mexican Institute of Social Security, National Medical Center Century XXI, Edificio CORCE, Tercer piso, Avenida Cuauhtémoc no. 330, Col. Doctores, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, 06725, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

    Teresa Juárez-Cedillo

  2. Endocrine Research Unit, National Medical Center, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico

    Lourdes Basurto-Acevedo, Sara Vega-García & Leticia Manuel-Apolinar

  3. Department of Research and Animal Facility, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán”, Mexico City, DF, Mexico

    Emiliano Cruz-Tesoro

  4. Immunology Research Unit, National Medical Center, Mexican Social Security Institute, Mexico City, Mexico

    Emiliano Cruz-Tesoro

  5. Department of Molecular Biology and Interventional Genetic Study Group, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Mexico City, Mexico

    José Manuel Rodríguez-Pérez, Nonanzit Pérez-Hernández & José Manuel Fragoso

  6. Medical Research Unit in Human Genetics, Pediatric Hospital, Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico

    Normand García-Hernández

Authors
  1. Teresa Juárez-Cedillo
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  2. Lourdes Basurto-Acevedo
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  3. Sara Vega-García
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  4. Leticia Manuel-Apolinar
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  5. Emiliano Cruz-Tesoro
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  6. José Manuel Rodríguez-Pérez
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  7. Normand García-Hernández
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  8. Nonanzit Pérez-Hernández
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  9. José Manuel Fragoso
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Teresa Juárez-Cedillo.

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Juárez-Cedillo, T., Basurto-Acevedo, L., Vega-García, S. et al. Prevalence of anemia and its impact on the state of frailty in elderly people living in the community: SADEM study. Ann Hematol 93, 2057–2062 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-014-2155-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-014-2155-4

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