The Relationship Between Anemia and Mortality in Elderly COVID 19 Patients

Background: COVID 19 continues to affect the whole world with its different presentations and unenlightened aspects.Older patients are the group most at risk. Low hemoglobin levels contribute to hypoxia during COVID 19 infection and increase the risk of complications, especially in risky groups. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of anemia and its effect on mortality in geriatric COVID 19 patients. 
Materials and Methods: Data of 251 patients over the age of 65 who were followed up in the Internal Medicine services allocated for COVID 19 of our hospital between August and October 2020, were included in the study. Anemia was defined as a hemoglobin level of 13 mg/dl in men and below 12 mg/dl in women at the time of admission. Demographic and laboratory data of the patients and hemoglobin levels were compared. 
Results: The mean age of 251 COVID-19 patients included in the study was 75.6±7.6 years. 45.8% (n:115) of the patients were female and 54.2% (n:136). While 51.8% of the patients had anemia, the presence of anemia was found to be 67.9% in patients who died due to COVID 19. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, advanced age (OR=1.082; 95% CI=1.03-1.137; p=0.002), presence of anemia (OR=1.969; 95% CI=1.113-4.246; p=0.034),hypertension (OR =5.763; 95% CI=1.713-19.389; p=0.005), dementia (OR=3.614; 95% CI=1.128-11.578; p=0.031) were determined as independent risk factors predicting mortality in patients with COVID-19. 
Conclusion: Advance age, presence of anemia, hypertension and dementia has been found as İndependant risk factors for mortality in COVID 19 infection in our study. In elderly Covid 19 patients hemoglobin levels at admission may be helpful in predicting mortality.