Although anemia is more prevalent as aging proceeds, it cannot be assumed that it happens due to aging alone. The biggest prevalence of anemia is in the oldest old who are hospitalized. An analysis of occurrence and charactertistics of anemia in the elderly 65+ y. admitted to acute geriatric department. During the period of two years the authors treated 2282 elderly patients aged 65+ y. Out of them a subgroup of 246 old anemic patients with hemoglobin <110 g/I (aged 81+/- 7.2 y.) was selected. The prevalence of anemic patients among all the acutely admitted seniors ranged between 7.1% and 20% (from 65 y. to 100 y.). All the data of these anemic patients (both clinical and laboratory) were collected and analyzed. Hemoglobin by hospital admission in average was 93.4 g/l +/- 12.9; below 80 g/l in 56 cases. The authors found anemic persons living lonely in the community more frequently (p = 0.005) than in elderly people living with somebody or in an institution. No significant gender differences in the occurrence of anemia were observed. MCV (Microtic Cell Volume) was normal in 73% of patients; below 80 fl in 23% and above 100 fl in 4% of all anemic patients. Low iron level though was present in 192-times (78%). Low zinc level was together in this anemic patient set present in 222 cases (90.2%). During hospitalization the status was as follows: worsened 18-times; stationary 160-times and significantly improved 68-times. Anemia in the elderly is often caused by a benign disease and, in fact, may simply be a marker of a chronic illness. It may be, however, a presenting sign of a serious disease, including cancer. The authors point out some aspects, risks and pitfalls of anemia in the elderly following their own experiences concerning anemia as a chronic disease.
- MeSH
- anemie * diagnóza farmakoterapie epidemiologie MeSH
- geriatrie metody MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- prevalence MeSH
- senioři nad 80 let MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- stárnutí krev MeSH
- výsledek terapie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři nad 80 let MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: One of our previous studies was aimed at the consumption of prescribed drugs by the elderly population. The average per day number of drugs was 4.6 (maximum 13). Existence of freely obtainable drugs with massive advertisements brings a question, how many of those drugs it is necessary to add in order to estimate probability of interaction and undesirable drug effects. In order to achieve valid information, students of the sixth year of General medicine program during their practical course at general practitioners were asked to interview randomly selected senior patients. They asked on the number, type, and price of freely obtainable drugs which they use. Data were evaluated from interviews accomplished during academic years 2001/2002 and 2004/2005. METHODS AND RESULTS: Our cohort included 252 men and 148 women with average age of 78.7 years. Average number of freely obtainable drugs was 2.26 at the beginning and 2.32 at the end of study. Only 34% of questioned did not buy any of those drugs at all or only exceptionally, 66% reported buying once a month or weekly. 44% of seniors buy analgetics, 58% buy vitamins, 37% food supplements, 36% non steroid antirheumatics, 46% cold prevention drugs, 30% anti-constipation drugs. Contrary to our expectation, positive correlation between the sums given for the personal participation on the drug costs and that given for freely obtainable drugs was found. It is not possible to expect, that polymorbidic patient with several prescribed drugs would buy less of freely obtainable drugs even due to the financial requirements. CONCLUSIONS: Freely obtainable drugs, many of them composites, can represent significant source of interactions and undesirable drug effects. They can also significantly modulate compliance of the senior. The high percentage of seniors buying freely obtainable drugs requires aimed questions on the pharmacological history.
- MeSH
- lékové předpisy MeSH
- léky bez předpisu MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- polypharmacy * MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- spotřeba léčiv statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- anglický abstrakt MeSH
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
- Názvy látek
- léky bez předpisu MeSH
