Haematologic pattern in healthy elderly subjects.
BACKGROUND: A more prolonged life expectancy is associated with an increased morbidity rate with marked alterations of physiologic and metabolic functions in the body. The haematologic pattern can be modified during ageing because of reduced cellular replication and enhanced fibrosis in the bone marrow. Nevertheless it is not clear whether ageing represents the cause or the result of these phenomena. METHODS: In order to evaluate wide variation of data on the haematologic pattern in elderly subjects, we studied one hundred eight healthy subjects (27 males, 81 females; ranging from 50 to 99 years), living in their home. RESULTS: We observed a reduction in serum iron and transferrin and an increase in serum ferritin levels during ageing, with a consequential iron tissue stores increase. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested that senescence was associated with an increased incidence of anemia, which cannot be considered a normal feature of aging, the physicians must investigate each cause of anemia in elderly subjects. Haematological pattern is in the normal range in healthy elderly subjects, even if we found significant age-linked changes. We conclude that a progressive impairment of bone marrow functions is the most important factor in determining significant changes of hematopoiesis in healthy elderly subjects.