The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015
Background: There is limited evidence on the association of anemia with chronic diseases and disabilities among older persons in Malaysia. We assessed the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among community-dwelling older persons. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data from...
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| Format: | Article |
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2022
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/103675/ |
| _version_ | 1848864078945058816 |
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| author | Krishnapillai, Ambigga Devi Omar, Mohd Azahadi Ariaratnam, Suthahar Awaluddin, S Maria Sooryanarayana, Rajini Ho, Bee Kiau Mohd Tauhid, Noorlaili Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina |
| author_facet | Krishnapillai, Ambigga Devi Omar, Mohd Azahadi Ariaratnam, Suthahar Awaluddin, S Maria Sooryanarayana, Rajini Ho, Bee Kiau Mohd Tauhid, Noorlaili Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina |
| author_sort | Krishnapillai, Ambigga Devi |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: There is limited evidence on the association of anemia with chronic diseases and disabilities among older persons in Malaysia. We assessed the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among community-dwelling older persons. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data from the nationwide National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 (NHMS 2015) on the health of older adults conducted by the Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Malaysia. A two-stage stratified random-cluster sampling design was utilized. Data were collected on the sociodemographic profiles, non-communicable disease (NCD) comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia status) and disabilities among the older persons. Anemia was defined based on the World Health Organization’s standards. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of anemia with chronic diseases and disabilities. Results: The prevalence of anemia was 35.3% (95% CI: 33.1, 37.4) in the older persons. Chronic disease profiling showed that the prevalence rates of anemia among the older persons with diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were 38.6%, 35.3% and 34.1%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, persons aged 80 years and above (adjusted OR (aOR): 2.64; 95% CI: 2.00, 3.47), 70–79 years (aOR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.21, 1.66), with diabetes (aOR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.51) and with disabilities in walking (aOR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.54) and self-care (aOR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.22, 2.05) had higher odds of anemia compared to their respective reference categories. Among the persons with diabetes, the respondents aged 80 years and above (aOR: 2.48; 95% CI: 1.56, 3.94), 70–79 years old (aOR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.76) and with disabilities in vision (aOR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.63) and walking (aOR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.91) were more likely to be anemic. Furthermore, among the older persons without diabetes, persons aged 80 years and above (aOR: 2.89; 95% CI: 2.05, 4.07), 70–79 years old (aOR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.80) and with difficulty in self-care (aOR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.30, 2.69) were more likely to be anemic. Conclusions: The resilient predictors of developing anemia were advancing age and diabetes, based on our study. Anemia is significantly associated with walking and vision disabilities among older persons with diabetes and with self-care difficulties in those without diabetes. There is a need for future studies to evaluate strategies to prevent anemia among older adults in order to promote healthy aging. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:43:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-103675 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T13:43:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1036752023-05-03T04:07:51Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/103675/ The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 Krishnapillai, Ambigga Devi Omar, Mohd Azahadi Ariaratnam, Suthahar Awaluddin, S Maria Sooryanarayana, Rajini Ho, Bee Kiau Mohd Tauhid, Noorlaili Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina Background: There is limited evidence on the association of anemia with chronic diseases and disabilities among older persons in Malaysia. We assessed the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among community-dwelling older persons. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data from the nationwide National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015 (NHMS 2015) on the health of older adults conducted by the Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Malaysia. A two-stage stratified random-cluster sampling design was utilized. Data were collected on the sociodemographic profiles, non-communicable disease (NCD) comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia status) and disabilities among the older persons. Anemia was defined based on the World Health Organization’s standards. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of anemia with chronic diseases and disabilities. Results: The prevalence of anemia was 35.3% (95% CI: 33.1, 37.4) in the older persons. Chronic disease profiling showed that the prevalence rates of anemia among the older persons with diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were 38.6%, 35.3% and 34.1%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, persons aged 80 years and above (adjusted OR (aOR): 2.64; 95% CI: 2.00, 3.47), 70–79 years (aOR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.21, 1.66), with diabetes (aOR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.51) and with disabilities in walking (aOR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.54) and self-care (aOR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.22, 2.05) had higher odds of anemia compared to their respective reference categories. Among the persons with diabetes, the respondents aged 80 years and above (aOR: 2.48; 95% CI: 1.56, 3.94), 70–79 years old (aOR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.76) and with disabilities in vision (aOR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.63) and walking (aOR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.91) were more likely to be anemic. Furthermore, among the older persons without diabetes, persons aged 80 years and above (aOR: 2.89; 95% CI: 2.05, 4.07), 70–79 years old (aOR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.80) and with difficulty in self-care (aOR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.30, 2.69) were more likely to be anemic. Conclusions: The resilient predictors of developing anemia were advancing age and diabetes, based on our study. Anemia is significantly associated with walking and vision disabilities among older persons with diabetes and with self-care difficulties in those without diabetes. There is a need for future studies to evaluate strategies to prevent anemia among older adults in order to promote healthy aging. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2022 Article PeerReviewed Krishnapillai, Ambigga Devi and Omar, Mohd Azahadi and Ariaratnam, Suthahar and Awaluddin, S Maria and Sooryanarayana, Rajini and Ho, Bee Kiau and Mohd Tauhid, Noorlaili and Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina (2022) The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (9). art. no. 4983. pp. 1-12. ISSN 1660-4601 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/9/4983 10.3390/ijerph19094983 |
| spellingShingle | Krishnapillai, Ambigga Devi Omar, Mohd Azahadi Ariaratnam, Suthahar Awaluddin, S Maria Sooryanarayana, Rajini Ho, Bee Kiau Mohd Tauhid, Noorlaili Shariff Ghazali, Sazlina The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 |
| title | The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 |
| title_full | The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 |
| title_fullStr | The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 |
| title_short | The prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015 |
| title_sort | prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among older persons: findings from the national health and morbidity survey (nhms) 2015 |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/103675/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/103675/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/103675/ |