Anaemia in primary care: iron deficiency and anaemia of chronic disease

Anaemia is a condition which affects people around the world and occurs in many forms, some common and frequently encountered, others much rarer. Two of the most commonly diagnosed of these anaemia types will be reviewed here – iron deficiency anaemia and anaemia of chronic disease. Less common forms of anaemia are shown in Table 1.

Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the most common cause of anaemia and is a problem worldwide, with an estimated 500 million people affected, occurring both in low-income countries such as sub-Saharan Africa and also in more affluent parts of the world (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2021). Anaemia of chronic disease (ACD), also called anaemia of inflammation, is the second most common anaemia type. Both can potentially affect any age, but the latter type is more common among older adults and is a frequent finding among those in this age group admitted to hospital (Madu and Ughasoro, 2017).