Risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia diagnosed by general practitioners in the community

The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for pneumonia diagno sed in the community by general practitioners, using a case control study i n 29 general practices in Nottingham, U.K. Patients with radiographically c onfirmed pneumonia were compared with adults randomly selected from elector al registers corresponding to the catchment areas of the general practices taking part in the study. Sixty-six cases and 489 controls participated. Significant risk factors in univariate analysis included age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, co ngestive heart failure and lifetime consumption of cigarettes. Multiple log istic regression analysis of these four variables showed that age [adjusted odds ratio = 2.69 (for 30 year increment), 95%CI = 1.66-4.35] and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (adjusted odds ratio = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.15-3.4 5) were independent risk factors. Only age and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were independent risk fa ctors for pneumonia in this study. Since cigarette smoking is the major cau se of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, these data suggest that cigare tte smoking is the main avoidable risk factor for community-acquired pneumo nia in adults.