Anemia may increase your risk of dementia, study suggests

Elderly screening for the condition of blood makes sense, says researcher

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay reporter

Wednesday, July 31 (HealthDay News)--Elderly suffering from anemia.--lower than normal levels of red blood cells.--may be at increased risk for dementia, a new study suggests.

Anemia affects up to 23 percent of the elderly, the researchers say.

"We found a 60 percent increased risk of dementia with anemia. After controlling for other factors such as other medical illnesses, demographics, etc., the risk remained high of 40 to 50 percent, "said the lead author of the study Dr. Kristine Yaffe, professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Given how common both anemia and dementia in the elderly, are more attention to the connection between the two is important, and I think older adults for anemia screening makes sense, said Yaffe.

The study of more than 2,500 men and women with 70 in fact does not prove that this anemia causes dementia, however.

"Because we studied prospectively, we think that the best I can tell, this anemia is causally related to dementia, but observational studies one can never say for sure."But we did our best to exclude other explanations, said Yaffe.

The work of red blood cells is to carry oxygen throughout the body. When you're anemic, less oxygen is delivered to the cells of the brain, Yaffe said. "We feel that the Association is on low oxygen transported to the brain," she said.

Anemia can also indicate overall health problems, noted the authors of the study. Causes of iron deficiency include anemia and blood loss. Cancer, kidney failure and certain chronic diseases can also lead to anemia.

The study, published online on July 31 in neurology.--I should remind you that doctors that many conditions can lead to dementia, and treat them can stave off mental decline, said an expert.

"A concern with the increased visibility and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is that some doctors will be tempted to jump right into this diagnosis without first having followed the rule ' discard ' reversible causes," said Dr. Sam Gandy, Director of the Mount Sinai Center for cognitive health in New York City. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia.

"We must always seek to exclude treatable, reversible causes of dementia, depression, nutritional deficiencies, endocrine and metabolic disorders before rushing into a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease," he said.

During the study, all participants were tested for anemia and led to memory and thinking tests over 11 years.

Almost 400 participants were anemic at the beginning of the study. Throughout the study, about 18 percent of dementia developed-455--of participants, researchers found.

Of participants with anemia, 23 percent developed dementia, compared with 17% of those who were not anemic.

People who were anemic at the beginning of the study had 41% higher risk of developing dementia than those without anemia after the researchers took into account factors such as age, race, gender and education.

Additional research is needed to confirm this Association before they are made recommendations on the prevention of dementia, suggested that the authors of the study.