Obesity and risk of subsequent hospitalization with pneumonia

J B Kornum, M Nørgaard, C Dethlefsen, K M Due, Reimar W. Thomsen, A Tjønneland, Henrik Toft Sørensen, K Overvad

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

86 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Obesity may be associated with increased risk of pneumonia, but available data are sparse and inconsistent.We followed a prospective cohort of 22,578 males and 25,973 females from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Study, aged 50-64 and free from major chronic diseases at baseline (1993-1997), for first-time hospitalization with pneumonia (median follow-up 12 years).Compared with males of normal weight, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of pneumonia were 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-1.7) for males with moderate obesity (BMI 30.0-34.9), and 2.0 (1.4-2.8) for males with severe obesity (BMI >/=35.0), controlling for lifestyle and educational variables. Among females the associations were weaker with adjusted HRs of 0.8 (0.6-1.0) for moderate obesity, and 1.2 (0.8-1.6) for severe obesity. Adjustment for major chronic diseases diagnosed during follow-up eliminated the associations between obesity and pneumonia risk.Obesity is associated with higher risk of hospitalization with pneumonia among males but not among females, apparently explained by occurrence of other chronic diseases.
Original languageEnglish
JournalThe European Respiratory Journal
Volume36
Pages (from-to)1330-6
Number of pages7
ISSN0903-1936
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Obesity and risk of subsequent hospitalization with pneumonia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this