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Prevalence of anemia and malnutrition and their association in elderly nursing home residents

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Abstract

Purpose

Malnutrition is one of the most important geriatric syndromes in the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between anemia and malnutrition in elderly nursing home residents.

Materials and methods

Local nursing home residents over 60 years old in the Izmir were included in the study. Blood samples were taken from study participants for hemogram, iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity, vitamin B12 and folic acid analysis. WHO criteria were used to define anemia. Causes of anemia were classified as iron deficiency, vitamin B12 or folic acid deficiency, anemia of chronic disease or other hematologic causes. Anemia was defined as the dependent variable and malnutrition was defined as the independent variable. Correlation between MNA scores and Hb levels was determined using Pearson correlation analysis. The slope of causality between malnutrition and anemia was determined using the χ 2 test and logistic regression analysis.

Results

The study included 257 elderly nursing home residents with a mean age of 78.5 ± 7.8 years. The overall prevalence of anemia was 54.9 %; 35.8 % of the study participants were at risk of malnutrition and 8.2 % were malnourished. Anemia risk was 2.12-fold higher in participants at risk of malnutrition and 5.05-fold higher in those with malnutrition. In the participants with malnutrition or malnutrition risk, the most common cause of anemia was anemia of chronic disease (57.1 and 46.5 %, respectively).

Conclusion

The prevalence of anemia among elderly nursing home residents is high in Turkey. Malnutrition and malnutrition risk increase the incidence of anemia.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Ege University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Sevnaz Sahin, Pinar Tosun Tasar & Fehmi Akcicek

  2. Department of Healthcare, Dokuz Eylul University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Hatice Simsek

  3. Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Istanbul Arel University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Zeynep Çicek

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, Ege University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Hulya Eskiizmirli

  5. Faculty of Nursing, Ege University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Fisun Senuzun Aykar

  6. Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ege University Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Fahri Sahin

Authors
  1. Sevnaz Sahin
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  2. Pinar Tosun Tasar
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  3. Hatice Simsek
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  4. Zeynep Çicek
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  5. Hulya Eskiizmirli
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  6. Fisun Senuzun Aykar
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  7. Fahri Sahin
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  8. Fehmi Akcicek
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Correspondence to Pinar Tosun Tasar.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/ or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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During the study, all participants signed a written informed consent form.

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Sahin, S., Tasar, P.T., Simsek, H. et al. Prevalence of anemia and malnutrition and their association in elderly nursing home residents. Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 857–862 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0490-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0490-5

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