title: Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia in German adults: the impact of children in the household.
abstract: The objective of this case-control study was to identify the main risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a German adult population. A self-administered questionnaire was given to CAP cases provided by the German competence network CAPNETZ and population-based, randomly selected controls (sex- and age-matched). Multivariate analysis showed that in addition to known risk factors such as previous CAP [odds ratio (OR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-2.1], more than one respiratory infection during the previous year (OR 3.6, 95% CI 2.9-4.5), chronic pulmonary diseases (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.7-3.0), number of comorbidities (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4-1.9), and number of children in the household (2 children: OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.5-3.4; > or = 3 children: OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.5-7.0) were independent risk factors for CAP. This was pronounced in particular in people aged < or = 65 years. The most likely explanation for this finding is higher exposure to infectious agents.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Medical University Schleswig-Holstein, Luebeck Campus, Germany. maike.schnoor@sozmed.uni-luebeck.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schnoor
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klante
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beckmann
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Robra
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Welte
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Raspe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schäfer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires