[Etiological study and diagnosis of anemia in adults over 60 years of age].

Purpose: Anaemia especially iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a worldwide health problem and the most frequent nutritional lack in developing countries. The epidemiology of anaemia in hospitalized patients in Internal Wards is not well-known.

Patients and methods: On a retrospective basis we studied 105 patients with haemoglobin levels below 115 g/L. Symptoms, type of anaemia, causing disease, diagnostic procedures, pathologic findings and transfusional schedule were analyzed.

Results: Mean haemoglobin was 77.8 (SD 17.9) g/L. Anaemia degree was deeper in women (p < 0.05) and IDA comparatively with chronic disease (CDA) (p < 0.01) and it did not show relation with therapeutic agents which potentially induce anaemia. IDA was the most frequent followed by haemorrhagic anaemia (HA) and CDA. The diagnostic procedure which discovered an underlying disease in most of the cases was upper digestive tract endoscopy, and CDA needed the highest number of diagnostic procedures. There was not relationship between the sort of anaemia and symptoms due to upper digestive tract and endoscopic findings, however low digestive tract symptoms (bleeding and abnormal finger rectal examination) and pathologic findings in colonoscopy had a straight relation (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: IDA is the anaemia most frequently diagnosed in an Internal Medicine Department followed by HA and ACD. Clinical symptoms and the type of anaemia have poor correlation. In IDA upper digestive endoscopy as well as lower digestive tract examination is mandatory. We propose colonoscopy in patients aged more than 50-years whereas barium enema could be employed in younger people.