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The following is a summary of “Sex differences in the impact of lower respiratory tract infections on older adults’ health trajectories: a population-based cohort study,” published in the November 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Abbadi et al.
Older adults with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), a global health issue, have an adverse health outcome extending beyond the acute infectious episode.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the mid-term (up to 7 years) and long-term (up to 12 years) effects in older adults of LRTIs on the objective health status trajectories, accounting for potential sex differences.
They analyzed adults aged ≥60 from the Swedish National Study of Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K) collected between 2001 and 2016 and obtained LRTI information from the Swedish National Patient Register , assessed the objective health status using the Health Assessment Tool (HAT), with indicators of mild and severe disability, cognitive and physical functioning, and multimorbidity. The LRTI-exposed and -unexposed participants were matched based on various potential confounders, and mixed linear models were used to study the association between LRTIs and changes in HAT scores.
The results showed that 2,796 participants, 567 of whom were diagnosed with LRTI, were independently associated with an additional annual reduction of 0.060 (95% CI: -0.107, -0.013) in the HAT score over 7 years. The associations were more potent among males, who experienced an additional annual decline of 0.108 (95% CI: -0.177, -0.039) in up to 7-year follow-up and 0.097 (95% CI: -0.173, -0.021) in up to 12-year follow-up and were not statistically significant among females in either follow-up period.
Investigators concluded that LRTIs appeared to have a lasting negative impact on the health of older adults, especially among males, and that preventive public health strategies targeting LRTI reduction could help maintain health and functioning in older age.
Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-10131-7
