Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic airway obstruction due to chronic inflammation. This entity is one of the major causes of premature mortality and morbidity in adults. Anemia is known to be a comorbidity in COPD as in many other chronic diseases. Aims and Objectives: The present study is a retrospective hospital-based study aimed to determine the prevalence of anemia in the study population of the state of East Sikkim.
Materials and Methods: In this hospital-based retrospective study, 533 clinically diagnosed COPD patients were studied from the teaching hospital under Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Gangtok, Sikkim. 207 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Anemia was defined as per the WHO criteria as hemoglobin (Hb) <13 g% in males and <12 g% in females and hematocrit (Hct) <39 in males and <36% in females. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 23.0.
Results: The mean age of COPD patients in this study was 68.17 years in males and 67.41 years in females. Of the 207 patients studied, 54 (26.1%) male had Hb <13 g% and 71 (34.3%) female had Hb <12 g%. The Hct level <39% was found in 53 males (25.6%) and <36% found in 71 (34.2%) females. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia in males was 26.1%, and in females, it was 34.3% based on the Hb levels, and based on Hct values, it was 25.6% in males and 34.2% in females. Anemia was more prevalent in older age groups in both males and females.