Characterization of Anemia among Hospitalized Patients with Psychiatric Disorders

Background: Anemia is associated with many psychiatric problems, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders.Moreover, anemia affects brain neurotransmitters, which affect learning, memory, and behavior.Objective: The current study aims to shed light on the prevalence of anemia and its associated factors among hospitalized psychiatric patients.Patients and Methods: A total of 143 admitted patients who had been diagnosed with psychiatric disorders with an age > 14-year-old who fulfilled the study criteria were enrolled in this cross-sectional study over six months in 2022.A structured clinical interview for the DSM-5 was used to settle the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders.Patients' data and blood samples were collected.Results: About 27.27% of the psychiatric patients had anemia, with the highest frequency in schizophrenia (46.2%), followed by other disorders (33.3% bipolar, 10.3% schizoaffective, 5.1% depression, and 5.1% psychotic depression).Moreover, a higher frequency was found among adolescents and young adults than among older adults (76.9% vs. 23.2%).Normocytic normochromic morphology was the commonest subtype (59.0%).Conclusion: Anemia could cause psychiatric symptoms or deteriorate an existing psychiatric condition when left untreated.So, it would be beneficial to catch up with the diagnosis of anemia in psychiatric patients and change the negative lifestyles and malnutrition habits of this population.