Urgent warning to anyone who caught common bug as a child over deadly complication years later
CATCHING pneumonia or other lung condition in childhood could double your risk of dying from an infection later in life, a study claims.
Researchers found suffering a lung infection before the age of two could dramatically boost the chances of early death in adulthood.
The study tracked 3,589 Brits in England and Wales over 73 years.
They found infections in early childhood could lead to a fifth of premature deaths from respiratory disease later in life — nearly 180,000 in the two countries since 1972.
Dr James Allinson, of Imperial College London, said: “Linking one in five of adult respiratory deaths to infections in childhood shows the need to target risk well before adulthood.
“We need to optimise childhood health, not least by tackling childhood poverty.”
Around 220,000 people are struck down with pneumonia every year in the UK, according to the British Lung Foundation.
The infection accounted for around a quarter of the 1,589 people who died from a lower respiratory tract infection in 2012, the latest year figures are available for.
The condition is an inflammation of the lungs that is usually caused by bacteria or a virus.
Most people recover between two to four weeks but babies, the elderly and those with heart or lung conditions are at risk of serious illness requiring hospital treatment.
Previous research has shown pneumonia in childhood can increase the risk of chronic lung disease in later life because of damage done to the organ during development.
The latest study, published in The Lancet, looked at how lower respiratory tract infections — which also include bronchitis — in children affect death rates in adulthood.
Of the study participants born since 1946, a quarter had an infection before the age of two.
What are the symptoms of pneumonia?
Symptoms of pneumonia can start suddenly or gradually over a few days.
They include:
- a cough – you may cough up yellow or green mucus (phlegm)
- shortness of breath
- a high temperature
- chest pain
- an aching body
- feeling very tired
- loss of appetite
- making wheezing noises when you breathe – babies may also make grunting noises
- feeling confused – this is common in older people
Source: The NHS
A fifth had died before the age of 73 years old by the end of the study in 2019.
Among these 674 premature adult deaths, 8 per cent died from respiratory disease, mostly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Professor Rebecca Bailey, of Loughborough University, said: “Efforts to reduce childhood infections could help tackle premature deaths from respiratory disease later in life.
“We hope that this study will help guide the strategies of international health organisations in tackling this issue.”