Pneumonia linked to lung cancer risk

Pneumococcal pneumonia, a type of bacterial pneumonia, is significantly associated with risk for lung cancer, according to new findings.

The study, published in the journal Lung, analysed data from the National Health Insurance Database in Taiwan.

The research included 22,034 adult patients who were diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia between 1997 and 2010, and 88,136 without pneumonia.

The results revealed that the likelihood of developing lung cancer was 3.25 times greater among the pneumococcal pneumonia group than in those without the infection.

The risk was particularly high among men, who had an 85% greater risk for developing lung cancer after pneumococcal pneumonia than women, which the authors say may be due to greater numbers of men smoking.

Additionally, older patients had the greatest risk, with those aged 75 years and over 18.7 times more likely to develop lung cancer after the infection than those aged 20 to 45 years.

The findings come on World Pneumonia Day, which aims to raise awareness and fight the prevalence of pneumonia, particularly within children. Find out more about pneumonia and other lung infections.

Read the original news article

Read the original research paper