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MONDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDayNews) -- In the elderly, anemia is associated with significantly increased risks of death and hospital stays, a new study says.

"We found that older persons with anemia appeared to have a greater hospitalization rate and mortality rate compared with people with no anemia," says lead researcher Brenda Penninx, an associate professor of gerontology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Penninx presented the findings Dec. 8 at the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting in San Diego.

Anemia is a disorder of the red blood cells that reduces their ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. It has a number of causes, including a lack of iron in the diet, vitamin deficiencies, medications or an underlying disease such as bone marrow cancer.

Penninx and her colleagues collected data on anemia's association with death and hospitalization. They studied 3,607 adults, aged 71 and older, who participated in the Established Population for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly.

The researchers found that about 13 percent of participants were anemic. During an average of four years of follow-up, Penninx's team found these patients were twice as likely to die and 40 percent more likely to be hospitalized compared with non-anemic patients. In addition, individuals with anemia had significantly longer hospital stays.

The association between anemia and an increased risk of death and hospitalization existed whether or not the patients had diseases associated with anemia, such as cancer and kidney failure, the researchers found.

Penninx says this indicates the disease itself did not explain the increased risk. The researchers also found those with borderline anemia were also at increased risk.

However, they note that, "a higher hemoglobin level was significantly associated with a lower risk of mortality and a lower risk of hospitalization." Hemoglobin is the component of red blood cells that transports oxygen. Penninx's team does not know why there is a link between hemoglobin levels and lower risk.

"This study shows that physicians should pay more attention to anemia in elderly patients and try to determine the underlying cause," Penninx says. "Patients with symptoms of anemia should talk about it with their physician."

Dr. Meghan Gerety, a professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center and president-elect of the American Geriatric Society, agrees that anemia is a serious condition that increases risk for adverse outcomes.

However, she cautions that anemia is not in itself a disease, but a symptom of an underlying disease. "Older patients who are anemic should realize that there is a cause," Gerety adds. "Correcting the anemia is done by treating the illness, not by any form of supplements."

While anemia is common in elderly patients, it is not related to aging; rather, it is related to illness, Gerety says. "A healthy older person does not have a significant decline in blood count with age," she says.

Physicians should evaluate patients with anemia to determine the cause, Gerety advises. Patient with low blood counts need to be aware this is a sign of something going on, and they should discuss it with their doctor, she says.

More information

To learn more about anemia, visit the Nemours Foundation or the National Anemia Action Council.

(SOURCES: Brenda Penninx, Ph.D., associate professor, gerontology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Meghan Gerety, M.D., professor, medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, and president-elect, American Geriatric Society; Dec. 8, 2003, presentation, American Society of Hematology annual meeting, San Diego)

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