Anemia Ferropénica en adultos mayores a nivel mundial

Abstract

Introduction: Iron deficiency anemia is the loss of iron in the body caused by an imbalance between intake, reserves, consumption, and loss of body iron. Iron deficiency affects vulnerable groups such as older adults. Objective: To analyze the scientific evidence related to iron deficiency anemia in older adults worldwide. Method: This is a descriptive narrative research based on the search and analysis of articles in scientific databases such as Springerlink, Medigraphic, Scopus, Latindex, PubMed, Bvs, SciELO, Redalyc, Dialnet, ScienceDirect, as well as institutional websites related to the field of health, and the study topic was related to 163 scientific articles. Results: Worldwide, approximately 48.8% of the elderly population suffers from iron deficiency anemia, mostly in the female sex with 20.1%. The main predisposing factors for iron deficiency anemia are inflammatory diseases, neoplasms, altitude and age, and a lack of iron-rich foods. The occurrence of complications is cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, gastric, and neurological, which affect the lifestyle of geriatric patients. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in the elderly worldwide and the risk of damage to the major systems, the nursing professional must have sufficient expertise and updated knowledge of the pathology and provide specialized care to improve the quality of life of the geriatric population. Keywords: Iron deficiency anemia, nursing care, elderly, prevalence.