Pneumonia risk for older people
A German study has found old age and nursing home residency are the greatest predictors of mortality for people with pneumonia.
Older people and nursing home residents are much more likely to die from community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), according to a study published in the European Respiratory Journal.
The research initiated by the German Competence Network for Community-Acquired Pneumonia found that people living in nursing homes had a four-fold increase in mortality rate compared to older people living in the community
Among the general population, 6.3 per cent of people who develop pneumonia die within a month but the 30-day mortality rate for older people with CAP is 10.3 per cent.
The study evaluated the case history of 2,647 patients with CAP. Half of them were over 65 and the other half were younger than 65.
Almost three quarters of people with CAP were hospitalised and 27.7 per cent were treated in the community.
CAP is behind more deaths than any other infectious disease in the developed world and almost half of all people who contract the illness are over 65.
