A descriptive study of anaemia in the elderly at a tertiary care institute in Sri Lanka.

Introduction: Anaemia is a commonly encountered condition among the elderly population which calls for further evaluation to identify the cause and to prevent complications.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence, causes and complications related to anaemia among elderly patients admitted to two medical wards (15/16) of Colombo North (Teaching) Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka.

Methods: Patients aged over>65 years admitted to the above wards between April -Sep 2020 and who had anaemia were included in the study. Clinical and nutritional data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Laboratory findings were extracted from hospital records.

Results: The majority of the patients were females (63.2%; n = 129). The mean age was 72.5 years (65 - 92 years). Most of the patients (62.3%; n = 127) were symptomatic for anaemia at the time of hospital admission. The majority of the participants (75.5%; n = 154) did not demonstrate any complications related to anaemia. The severity of the anaemia was moderate among more than half of the patients (52.5%; n=107). Anaemia of chronic disease (54.4%; n=111) was the commonest etiological category detected. The majority of the cases with anaemia of chronic disease were due to chronic renal insufficiency (73.9%; n=82). The severity of the anaemia increased significantly with the presence of chronic disease (p 0.030).

Conclusion: Most patients in the present study had moderate anaemia whilst anaemia of chronic disease was the leading aetiological class contributor. Community-based studies are needed to understand the true burden of anaemia in the ageing population in Sri Lanka.