Study sheds light on the long-term impacts of a type of pneumonia

Researchers in Canada have found that having had a certain type of pneumonia can have long-term effects on a person’s health.

There are two types of pneumonia: community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), caused by germs in the community, and hospital-acquired pneumonia, which is caused by different germs in a hospital.

This study, which will be published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, focused on CAP.

The researchers studied the medical records of over 6,000 adults who had had CAP. They looked at an average period of 10 years starting from when they first had the condition. They compared these with the medical records of almost 30,000 people who had never had the condition.

They found that hospitalisation rates in the years since having CAP were higher among people that had had the condition than those who had not. The scientists also noted that people that had had CAP were at an increased risk of death than those who had not had the condition.

Following these findings, the researchers are recommending that further studies into the long-term health risks of CAP are needed, so that these can be avoided in the future.

Read the press release. 

Read the abstract of the journal article. 

Read more about pneumonia and other acute lower respiratory infections.