Objectives
To describe de prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) and anemia in a sample of Mexican elderly population from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut) 2012.
Methods
Materials and Methods. We studied 1,920 subjects older than 60 years of age. Hemoglobin was measured by Hemocue, serum concentrations of ferritin and CRP were measured using immunoassays run in an automatic autoanalizer (Architect, Abbot, Germany). Hb lower than 120 (females) and 130 (males) g/L were the criteria for anemia and ferritin concentrations <6 ng/dL were the criteria for ID. Subjects with anemia and ID were considered as Iron deficient anemia (IDA). The risk for ID and anemia adjusted for potential confounders was assessed in a multiple logistic regression models.
Results
Results. The overall prevalence of anemia was 13.9% , for males 15.2% and for females 12.8%. Overall ID was 4.2%, for males 4.0% and for females 4.3%. The greatest prevalence of ID was found in males and females over 80 years old (6.9 and 7.0%, respectively). IDA was present in 1.9 % of anemic Mexican elders.
Conclusions
Conclusion. The prevalence of anemia was high in the Mexican elderly, however the prevalence of ID was relatively low, and IDA was even lower, accounting only for 1.9 % of the cases of anemia; there is a need to further investigate the causes of anemia in this age group.
