Elderly people with anemia have a 66% higher risk of developing dementia (a disease of mental weakness and memory loss).

Dementia is a degenerative mental disease that causes loss of mental abilities. It is caused by the accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins in brain tissue.

This results in increased levels of dementia-related proteins in the blood, such as phosphorylated tau-207 protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein, which can potentially be diagnosed by blood tests.

About 10 percent of older adults are anemic, and it has been hypothesized that persistent anemia can cause brain shrinkage, white matter changes, and eventually dementia.

A research team from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, which decides the Nobel Prize in Medicine, recently examined the effects of anemia on dementia cases and published their findings at JAMA Network Open.

The study involved 2,282 Swedish people aged 60 or older. The researchers measured hemoglobin levels, which indicate anemia, and indicators of proteins in the blood associated with dementia. Participants were followed for 16 years to detect the incidence of dementia.

Experts say that prolonged blood loss can cause a persistent lack of oxygen in the brain, accumulate oxidative stress, lead to loss of nerve cells and affect the function of cerebral blood vessels, increasing the risk of dementia.

Regular medical checkups are recommended to reduce this risk so that timely diagnosis and treatment of anemia is possible.