Anemia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Anemia is frequently associated with many chronic diseases and can be responsible for weakness, fatigue, impaired mood, deficits in cognitive function and decreased quality of life. Anemia is also common in COPD and is associated with higher comorbidity, mortality, and costs of care, its prevalence in COPD patients is estimated at 13 to 23%. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia in COPD patients and analyze its relationship with functional status. Methods. Study group consisted of 132 patients (37% F), at mean age 68.2±9 years with post-bronchodilator FEV1 57.1±19.2% of predicted. Anemia was defined by hemoglobin concentration Results Anemia was diagnosed in 24 (18.2%) patients: 4 female and 20 male patients (p Conclusions: Anemia in COPD is more prevalent in males and can effect up to 20% of patients. It does not seem to depend on the severity of disease, however, it significantly reduces exercise capacity of patients.