[Management of anemia in the elderly].

Anemia is an important disease often found in the elderly. Iron deficiency anemia and secondary anemia are relatively frequent. Patients with iron deficiency anemia should be examined for the presence of gastrointestinal disease, including malignant disease, as a possible underlying condition. In addition, secondary anemia may result from chronic infectious disease, chronic inflammatory disease such as collagen disease, chronic renal failure, and endocrine disease. It is also important to differentiate anemia from myelodysplastic syndrome, which has been occurring at increasing frequency together with aging. This syndrome is considered to be clonal hematopoietic disorders that originate from abnormality at the hematopoietic stem cell level, and currently there is no standard treatment for this condition. There is also so-called senile anemia derived from age-related physiological degeneration of bone marrow function, renal function, and other organ functions. When anemia is found in the elderly, it is important to determine if it is explained by physiological changes or if there is an underlying disease the treatment of which can improve the anemia.