Medical Health Encyclopedia

Pernicious anemia

Although a form of the disease can occur in children, pernicious anemia usually does not appear before age 30. The average age at diagnosis is 60. In fact, one recent study revealed that nearly 2% of individuals over 60 have pernicious anemia. Slightly more women than men are affected. The disease occurs in all racial groups, but occurs most often in people of Scandinavian or Northern European descent.

Risk factors include a family history of pernicious anemia, Scandinavian or Northern European descent, and a history of autoimmune endocrine disorders. Pernicious anemia is seen in association with some autoimmune endocrine diseases such as type 1 diabetes,   hypoparathyroidism, Addison's disease, hypopituitarism, testicular dysfunction, Graves disease, chronic thyroiditis, myasthenia gravis, secondary amenorrhea, and vitiligo.

In addition to pernicious anemia, other causes of vitamin B-12 deficiency include:

• Nutrition (strict vegetarians without B-12 supplementation, poor diet in infant, or poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy)
• Infection (intestinal parasites, bacterial overgrowth)
• Gastrointestinal disease (stomach removal surgery, celiac disease [sprue], Crohn's disease)
• Drugs (colchicine, neomycin, tuberculosis treatment with para amino salicylic acid)
• Metabolic disorders (methylmalonic aciduria, homocystinuria)

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