DENVER—The ability of a given hemoglobin (Hb) level to predict mortality varies with both age and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), data show.
Investigators analyzed data from more than 1.7 million Veterans Administration patients to determine the association of Hb with time to death after stratifying by age and eGFR.
The prevalence of anemia (Hb below 13 g/dL) increased with age and eGFR, according to Jessica W. Weiss, MD, of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and colleagues. In adjusted analyses, a lower eGFR was associated with increased odds of anemia in all age groups, but the magnitude of this association was attenuated with increasing age, the researchers stated in a poster presentation. Even mild decreases in Hb were associated with an increased death risk most ages and most levels of eGFR, they observed. The strength of this association, however, was attenuated with both increasing age and decreasing eGFR. The relative risk of death associated with a given level of Hb was attenuated at lower levels of eGFR in all age groups, and varied more as a function of eGFR in younger versus older patients.
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