A large prospective cohort study has found that adults whose hemoglobin levels were about 1 to 3 g/dL above the current World Health Organization thresholds used to diagnose anemia had a lower risk of death compared to people whose hemoglobin levels fell below or above that range.
اضافة اعلان
The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, aimed to examine the relationship between hemoglobin concentration and long-term mortality risk.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow conducted an analysis involving 502,188 adults enrolled in the UK Biobank database, comparing hemoglobin concentrations against the WHO's sex-specific thresholds for anemia.
The researchers followed participants for a median of 13.6 years, examining all-cause mortality rates as well as deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The results showed a U-shaped relationship between hemoglobin levels and death risk, with the lowest risk observed among people whose hemoglobin concentrations were about 1 to 3 g/dL above the WHO's current anemia thresholds.
According to the researchers, these findings suggest that people whose hemoglobin levels fall near the lower threshold, even though considered within the normal range under current standards, may warrant further study and evaluation.
The researchers stressed that the findings do not currently justify adjusting the thresholds used to diagnose anemia, but they do point to a need for further research into borderline hemoglobin levels and how they should be interpreted clinically.
The study's authors concluded that the findings could help doctors better interpret borderline hemoglobin levels and identify people who may be at greater long-term risk of death.
Source: Al-Ghad.
