Why is Hemoglobin count lower in elderly?

[Music in My Heart]

I was looking through my lab/diagnostics book and it mentions that older adults have somewhat lower Hgb counts but doesn't mention why. I've looked through some other references and I can't come up with a good answer.

Can anybody enlighten me?

[PageRespiratory!]

Many normal values for older patients are different than younger people. Now to answer specifically about Hgb, I'd need to dig around the text books for a while, probably something about erythrocyte production rate and liver function among other variables, but I think it's fair to say that ones metabolism (the sum of ALL chemical reactions) slows with age.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

my guess would be that the answer is in a textbook of geriatrics or lab technology.

[Music in My Heart]

Well, it's not in my lab technology book. I'll have to wait until we hit geriatrics to check in a relevant text.

[Freedom42]

According to Lewis, Heitkemper & Dirksen, hemoglobin levels begin to decline in both men and women after middle age; most older folks have low normal levels. The culprit is usually iron deficiency, but the cause of anemia in many older patients is often unknown.

However, hematopoietic defects in the older adult during illness may in part be explained by impaired production of growth factors (such as erythropoeitin or granulocye-macrophage colony-stimulating factor). Thus an older adult may experience reduced hamtopoeisis in illness.

I think the other issue is the older adult's sensitivity to GI bleeds (and the medications that can cause them). If s/he has a GI bleed, s/he may well have an iron absorption problem.

My text also indicates that the older adult's RBCs are osmotically fragile. That may account for a slight decrease in mean corpuscular volume and a slight decrease in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration.

Hope this helps.