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Hospitalization for pneumonia in the Cardiovascular Health Study: incidence, mortality, and influence on longer-term survival.

TitleHospitalization for pneumonia in the Cardiovascular Health Study: incidence, mortality, and influence on longer-term survival.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2005
AuthorsO'Meara, ES, White, M, Siscovick, DS, Lyles, MF, Kuller, LH
JournalJ Am Geriatr Soc
Volume53
Issue7
Pagination1108-16
Date Published2005 Jul
ISSN0002-8614
KeywordsAged, Aged, 80 and over, Cognition, Comorbidity, Diabetes Complications, Female, Hospitalization, Humans, Male, Mortality, Pneumonia, Prospective Studies, Respiratory Physiological Phenomena, Risk Factors, Smoking
Abstract<p><b>OBJECTIVES: </b>To estimate the rate of hospitalization for pneumonia in community-dwelling older adults and to assess its risk factors and contribution to mortality.</p><p><b>DESIGN: </b>Prospective observational study.</p><p><b>SETTING: </b>The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) in four U.S. communities.</p><p><b>PARTICIPANTS: </b>Five thousand eight hundred eighty-eight men and women aged 65 and older who were followed for a median 10.7 years.</p><p><b>MEASUREMENTS: </b>Participants were interviewed about medical history and demographics; evaluated for lung, physical, and cognitive function; and followed for hospitalizations, cardiovascular disease, and death.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Nearly 10% of the cohort was hospitalized for pneumonia, for a rate of 11.1 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI)=10.2-12.0). Risk factors included older age, male sex, current and past smoking, poor physical and lung function, and history of cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ten percent of participants died during their incident pneumonia hospitalization, and death rates were high in those who survived to discharge. Compared with participants who had not been hospitalized for pneumonia, the relative risk of total mortality was 4.9 (95% CI=4.1-6.0) during the first year after hospitalization and 2.6 (95% CI=2.2-3.1) thereafter, adjusted for age, sex, and race. The respective relative risks were 3.9 (95% CI=3.1-4.8) and 2.0 (95% CI=1.6-2.4) after further adjustment for baseline history of cardiovascular disease; diabetes mellitus; smoking; and measures of lung, physical, and cognitive function.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>In older people, hospitalization for pneumonia is common and is associated with an elevated risk of death, as shown in this population-based, prospective cohort.</p>
DOI10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53352.x
Alternate JournalJ Am Geriatr Soc
PubMed ID16108926
Grant ListN01 HC-15103 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-35129 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85079 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85080 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85081 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85082 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85083 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85084 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85085 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85086 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States