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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors associated with an increased risk of pneumonia include:
- Age. If you're age 65 or older, particularly if you have other conditions that make you more prone to developing pneumonia, you're at increased risk of pneumonia. Very young children, whose immune systems aren't fully developed, also are at increased risk of pneumonia.
- Certain diseases. These include immune deficiency diseases such as HIV/AIDS and chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, emphysema and other lung diseases, and diabetes. You're also at increased risk if your immune system has been impaired by chemotherapy or long-term use of immunosuppressant drugs.
- Smoking, alcohol abuse. Millions of microscopic hairs (cilia) cover the surface of the cells lining your bronchial tubes. The hairs beat in a wave-like fashion to clear your airways of normal secretions, but irritants such as tobacco smoke paralyze the cilia, causing secretions to accumulate. If these secretions contain bacteria, they can develop into pneumonia. Alcohol interferes with your normal gag reflex as well as with the action of the white blood cells that fight infection.
- Hospitalization in an intensive care unit. Pneumonia acquired in the hospital tends to be more serious than other types of pneumonia. People who need mechanical ventilation are particularly at risk because the breathing tube bypasses the normal defenses of the upper respiratory tract, prevents coughing, may allow the stomach's contents to back up into the esophagus where they can be inhaled (aspirated), and can harbor bacteria and other harmful organisms.
- Having COPD and using inhaled corticosteroids for more than 24 weeks. Research indicates that this greatly increases your risk of developing pneumonia, possibly serious pneumonia.
- Exposure to certain chemicals or pollutants. Your risk of developing some uncommon types of pneumonia may be increased if you work in agriculture, in construction or around certain industrial chemicals or animals. Exposure to air pollution or toxic fumes can also contribute to lung inflammation, which makes it harder for the lungs to clear themselves.
- Surgery or traumatic injury. People who've had surgery or who are immobilized from a traumatic injury have a higher risk of pneumonia because surgery or serious injuries may make coughing — which helps clear your lungs — more difficult, and lying flat can allow mucus to collect in your lungs, providing a breeding ground for bacteria.
- Ethnicity. If you're a Native Alaskan or from certain Native American tribes, you're at greater risk for contracting pneumonia.
References
- Pneumonia. The Merck Manuals: 00The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch052/ch052a.html. Accessed March 25, 2009.
- Pneumonia fact sheet. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=2060321&content_id={08C669B0-E845-4C9C-8B1E-285348BC83BD}¬oc=1. Accessed March 28, 2009.
- Durrington H, et al. Recent changes in the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. British Medical Journal. 2008;336:1429.
- Pneumonia. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=4294229&ct=3052571. Accessed March 28, 2009.
- Menendez R, et al. Treatment failure in community-acquired pneumonia. Chest. 2007;132:1348.
- Singh S, et al. Long-term use of inhaled corticosteroids and the risk of pneumonia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A meta-analysis. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2009;169;219.
- Chong C, et al. Pneumonia in the elderly: A review of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, microbiology and clinical features. Southern Medical Journal. 2008;101;1141.
- Chong C, et al. Pneumonia in the elderly: A review of severity assessment, prognosis, mortality, prevention and treatment. Southern Medical Journal. 2008;101;1134.
