Alcohol drinking and risk of subsequent hospitalisation with pneumonia.

The dose-response relationship between alcohol consumption and pneumonia risk in healthy individuals is poorly understood. We examined 22,485 males and 24,682 females from Denmark who were aged 50-64 yrs. Subjects were without major chronic diseases at baseline and had a median follow-up of 12 yrs for first-time hospitalisation with pneumonia. 1,091 (males) and 944 (females) had pneumonia-related hospitalisation. Among males, the risk of pneumonia was increased for alcohol abstainers and those who drank large weekly amounts. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for 0, 7-20, 21-34, 35-50 and >50 drinks·week(-1) were 1.49 (95% CI 1.00-2.21), 0.88 (95% CI 0.76-1.03), 0.87 (95% CI 0.72-1.05), 1.15 (95% CI 0.93-1.44) and 1.81 (95% CI 1.40-2.33), respectively, compared with 1-6 drinks·week(-1). The association between high alcohol intake and pneumonia persisted after controlling for subsequent chronic diseases. Among females, HRs for 0, 7-20, 21-35 and >35 drinks·week(-1) were 1.26 (95% CI 0.89-1.79), 1.01 (95% CI 0.88-1.17), 1.10 (95% CI 0.88-1.37) and 0.54 (95% CI 0.29-1.01), respectively. For the same moderate to high weekly alcohol amount, infrequent intake yielded higher pneumonia HRs than more regular intake in both sexes. Regular moderate alcohol intake is not associated with increased risk of hospitalisation for pneumonia. High weekly alcohol consumption in males and infrequent heavy drinking in both sexes may increase pneumonia risk.

Obesity and risk of subsequent hospitalisation with pneumonia.

Obesity may be associated with increased risk of pneumonia, but available data on this relationship 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 yrs and free from major chronic diseases at baseline (1993-1997), for first-time hospitalisation with pneumonia (median follow-up 12 yrs). Compared with males of normal weight, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for pneumonia were 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-1.7) for males with moderate obesity (body mass index (BMI) 30.0-34.9 kg·m⁻²), and 2.0 (95% CI 1.4-2.8) for males with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 35.0 kg·m⁻²), controlling for lifestyle and educational variables. Among females the associations were weaker, with adjusted HRs of 0.8 (95% CI 0.6-1.0) for moderate obesity, and 1.2 (95% CI 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 hospitalisation with pneumonia among males but not among females, which is apparently explained by occurrence of other chronic diseases.

Incidence of interstitial pneumonitis among breast cancer patients: a 10-year Danish population-based cohort study.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy may increase risk for interstitial pneumonitis (IP) in breast cancer patients, but there are little current population-based data on IP incidence in these patients. We assessed population-based incidence rates (IRs) of IP among Danish breast cancer patients and compared these with IRs for the Danish general population. Through the Danish Cancer Registry, we identified all Danish breast cancer patients (n=35 823) diagnosed between 1994 and 2004. Treatment data were obtained from the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperation Group database, and data on IP, from the Danish National Registry of Patients. We computed IRs of IP among breast cancer patients and age-standardised incidence rate ratios (SIRs) comparing breast cancer patients with the general population. During follow-up, 28 breast cancer patients were registered with an IP diagnosis (IR=17.3 per 100,000 person-years (p-y) (95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 11.7-24.6)). When follow-up was restricted to 1 year after the first breast cancer diagnosis, eight patients with IP were identified (IR=23.4 per 100,000 p-y (95% CI: 11.0-44.1)). The SIR comparing breast cancer patients with the general population was 8.4 (95% CI: 5.7-11.9). Thus, although IP is a rare adverse event among breast cancer patients, its risk is substantially higher than that in the general population.