[Epidemiology of anemia in adults: A population based study]

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of anemia and the defining characteristics of the individuals who suffer from it.

Design: Population-based descriptive observational study. Variables extracted from the computerized database of primary care medical records.

Setting: This study was conducted in the Metropolitana Nord health region, Barcelona.

Participants: Patients with anemia evaluated by hemoglobin, during the year 2019.

Inclusion criteria: older than 14 years, with hemoglobin determinations below the value recommended by the WHO.

Exclusion criteria: no follow-up by public health.

Main measurements: Demographic variables, clinical variables (drugs, diagnosis of anemia, complex chronic patient or advanced chronic disease. Resource consumption variables (number of visits to primary care, number of hospital admissions, and number of visits to the emergency room). The variables demographic and clinical variables were evaluated using frequencies and percentages, mean and standard deviation for quantitative variables. The characteristics of the different subgroups were compared with Student's t-test.

Results: The prevalence of anemia was 3.78%. Mean age 64.5 years and 60.8% women. 15.8% identified as complex chronic patients. Arterial hypertension present in 51.46%. 50.97 were iron deficiency anemias. They consulted the family doctor 2.25 times on average and the family nurse 1.49. Of the people with analytical criteria for anemia, only 46.57 had a registered diagnosis of anemia.

Conclusions: In the territory studied, an under-reporting of the diagnosis of anemia has been observed. Differences are observed in the characterization by gender and age.

Keywords: Adecuación diagnóstica; Anemia; Chronic disease indicators; Cronicidad; Diagnosis; Hemoglobin; Hemoglobina.