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Back to Chest Articles
Friday 26th May, 2006
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A decrease of the activity of the immune system in
alcoholics may be responsible for an increased risk
of pneumonia.
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The results of a paper published in the journal Chest
(129(5):1219-25) show that alcoholic and ex-alcoholic
individuals have a higher risk of suffering from community
acquired pneumonia.
Although mortality did not differ significantly, an increase
of the severeness of the disease was shown, and consequently, an
increase of the morbidity and the complications was revealed.
This study was conducted by the Pneumonia Multidiscipline
Group of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, led by Dr. Antoni
Torres, from the Institut Clínic del Tórax, and leader of the
IDIBAPS Group Management and Prevention of the Pulmonary
Disease.
The increase of the risk of suffering from pneumonia in
alcoholic patients exists due to the fact that the activity of
their immune system decreases. This decrease not only is
observed in alcoholic, but also in ex alcoholic patients. The
daily quantity of alcohol consumption in order to include
patients in the group of alcohol abuse was of 80 g in man and 60
g in women, the equivalent of 2 or 3 beers and 3 or 4 cups of
wine.
Results are especially relevant since alcohol is the more abused
drug in Spain, and causes a total of 12,000 deaths every year.
In addition, pneumonia is a very frequent disease, with 10
patients every 1,000 inhabitants in Catalonia. This number is
much higher if we take into account in the population over 65.
This is the reason why the consequences of this study, and the
possible vaccination of alcoholic of ex-alcoholic individuals
against Pneumococcus, would affect a very high number of
people. Alcohol consumption could turn into a new risk factor or
a worsening factor to take into account in cases of community
acquired pneumonia.
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