ID is associated with increased hospitalization rate and not associated with LOS ≥5 days among generally healthy older adults. Efforts to minimize ID in older adults may improve overall health and optimize healthcare costs.
Based on this prospective study among generally healthy European community-dwelling older adults, iron deficiency was not associated with the incidence rate of overall infections but may increase the incidence of severe infections. Intervention studies are needed to prove the causality of this observation.
These findings suggest that iron deficiency may play a role in low-grade chronic inflammation among relatively healthy older adults.