IRON-DEFICIENCY AND ANEMIA OF CHRONIC DISEASE IN ELDERLY WOMEN - A DISCRIMINANT-ANALYSIS APPROACH FOR DIFFERENTIATION

To differentiate iron-deficiency anemia and anemia associated with chr onic inflammatory diseases in elderly women, subsets of laboratory, di etary, and functional assessment variables were obtained by using disc riminant analysis. Fifty-one subjects (70-79 y of age) were classified into one of four groups on the basis of the presence of iron deficien cy and chronic inflammatory disease. Iron deficiency was defined on th e basis of a significant response in hemoglobin concentration after ir on supplementation. The discriminating subset of laboratory tests cons isted of measures for serum ferritin, plasma transferrin receptors, an d erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The discriminant function classified subjects into iron-deficient, anemia of chronic disease, or a categor y in which the two coexist, with an error rate of 18.6%. The addition of other variables (dietary iron and functional assessment information ) did not appreciably improve the classification. The results of these three key laboratory tests may help to identify functional iron defic iency in the presence of chronic inflammation.