Infectious disease risk in the elderly.
Older persons suffer excessively from infectious diseases such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections. This article discusses some of the reasons for this additional morbidity and mortality, including the anatomical and physiological changes with aging, impairment of immune function, presence of co-morbid diseases, and delays in diagnosis and initiation of therapy.
Bender
Bradley S
BS
Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Florida College of Medicine, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32610-0277, USA. bbender@ufl.edu
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors