Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia in adults: Recommendations for its prevention: Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia in adults

Jordi Almirall; Mateu Serra-Prat; Ignasi Bolibar

Authors

Jordi Almirall Intensive Care Unit, Hospital de Mataró, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, CIBER de Enfermedades Respitarorias, Barcelona, Spain
Mateu Serra-Prat Research Unit, Consorci Sanitari del Maresme; CIBER Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas, Barcelona, Spain
Ignasi Bolibar Public Health and Clinical Epidemiology Department, Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IIB Sant Pau), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Barcelona, Spain

Keywords:

Community-acquired pneumonia, prevention, risk factors

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The disease is one of the top 10 causes of death and up to the present time, standard aggressive medical care has not resulted in a decrease in mortality. Knowledge of risk factors for CAP is essential to the design of preventive measures to reduce its incidence. Preventive strategies promoting effective vaccines or identifying and acting on modifiable risk factors are of paramount importance in reducing CAP-related death. Most studies have been performed in patients referred for inpatient care or in CAP cases in which a specific pathogen has been identified, but data from population-based studies are scarcer. We present a review of the main risk factors for CAP in adults, classified in the following categories: (a) Comorbidities and their treatments, (b) demographic and socioeconomic factors, (c) lifestyle factors and (d) environmental factors. We conclude with some brief recommendations on preventive measures and vaccination.

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Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia in adults: Recommendations for its prevention