No abstract

Based on World Health Organization criteria, anemia was found in 25.4% of elderly subjects studied. Iron deficiency seems to be the main cause of anemia, and chronic disease the second cause of anemia. Dietary intake is not one of the principal causes of anemia in the study population, except for folate intake.

Research needs to focus on the development and evaluation of specific nutritional assessment tools for application to older people aiming to improve the detection of those suffering (or who are at risk of suffering) undernutrition.