Impact and treatment of anemia in the elderly: clinical, epidemiological and economic perspectives

Abstract

Anemia, defined as a lower than normal level of serum hemoglobin, is a common condition among the elderly, and it is often attributed to normal consequences of aging. Anemia in older individuals is frequently undiagnosed and untreated. The impact of untreated anemia can be severe, including increased risk of death, loss of independent functioning, physical decline, falls and fractures, frailty, cognitive decline, cardiovascular events and added economic burden to society. Treatment is available for many types of anemia. For anemia caused by nutritional deficiencies, treatments include simple dietary modifications and/or iron supplementation (e.g., iron, vitamin B12 or folate). Transfusion or erythropoietic agents (e.g., epoetin alfa, epoetin beta and darbepoetin alfa) are used for anemia of chronic diseases and their treatments (e.g., cancer/chemotherapy and chronic kidney disease). Evidence that highlights the benefits of erythropoietic therapies and their use in the treatment of anemia of chronic disease in the elderly is reviewed in this article.

Keywords::

• anemia
• darbepoetin alfa
• epoetin alfa
• erythropoietic agent
• geriatric
• hemoglobin
• transfusion

Acknowledgement

This project was funded by Ortho Biotech Clinical Affairs, LLC. (NJ, USA).