Relationship between anaemia and cognitive functions in elderly people

Abstract 

Background

The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of anaemia on the cognitive functions and daily living activities in elderly people.

Methods

This sectional study was performed using 180 elderly people. Face-to-face interviews and questionnaires were conducted to evaluate daily activities. To evaluate cognitive functions we used the Folstein's Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Results

The mean age of the anaemic group and the nonanaemic group were 76.0±11.7 and 72.5±15.2years, respectively. The average haemoglobin level among the anaemic population was 10.4g/dL compared with 13.6g/dL among the nonanaemic population; a statistically significant difference. There was more impairment in functional status (Katz ADL) (6.8±4.3 vs 9.3±3.7) and cognition (MMSE) (17.9±6.4 vs 21.7±6.7) in anaemic than nonanaemic groups, respectively. Albumin and body mass index were lower and the percentage of two or more comorbidities was higher in anaemic group compared to the nonanaemic group, which was a statistically significant variation. The anaemic group was more dependent in terms of bathing, dressing, toileting and transferring.

Conclusion

In the elderly anaemic group, the dependency for daily activities that require physical effort was higher compared to the nonanaemic group. The MMSE score in the elderly anaemic group was lower than subjects who had normal haemoglobin levels. We conclude that anaemia may impair cognitive functions and some daily living activities in the elderly.

Keywords: Anaemia, Daily living activities, Cognitive functions, Haemoglobin, Elderly