Anemia occurs when there is a low level of healthy red blood cells, and it has been linked to a number of chronic illnesses such as kidney failure, autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis and lupus), and inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s. Recently, scientists wanted to see if anemia had a link to dementia.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open , researchers examined data from over 2,200 adults and found that those with anemia had more biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. In the long term, they observed that having anemia was associated with a higher risk of developing dementia.
The participants who had the highest risk for dementia were those who had both anemia and higher levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. To conduct this study, researchers used information from participants who were part of the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen .
Participants were all at least sixty years old and did not have dementia at baseline. In all, researchers analyzed data from 2,282 participants.
Medical News Today published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 22 Apr 2026.
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