Factors associated with anemia in the institutionalized elderly

Abstract

As a common problem in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), anemia affects 25-63% of the elderly. The aim of the present study was to describe the prevalence and characteristics of anemia and its associated factors in the institutionalized elderly. The cross-sectional study was carried out with three hundred thirteen individuals aged ≥ 60 years, of both genders, living in long-term care facilities for the elderly in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Poisson regression (PR) with robust variance estimates was used to assess the factors related to anemia. The prevalence of anemia was 38%. Mild anemia was predominant in both genders (male: 26.8%; female: 21.1%), as normocytic and normochromic anemia, with no anisocytosis (69.75%). Anemia was associated with thinness (PR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.04-2.72) and with moderate (PR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.07-3.63) and total (PR: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.34-5.07) dependence in the final model. Severe dependence exhibited borderline significance (PR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.00-3.77). The prevalence of anemia was high in the institutionalized elderly in both genders, with characteristics suggesting chronic diseases as the causal factor, and the frequency of occurrence was higher in thinness elderly with moderate to total dependence.