Alcoholism boosts risk of severe pneumonia

People who abuse alcohol are at elevated risk of developing a serious case of pneumonia, new research shows.

In a study of more than 1,300 Spanish adults who were hospitalized for pneumonia, researchers found that those who were alcoholic were more likely to suffer a severe case of the lung infection.

Alcoholic patients were also 10 years younger, on average, than patients with no history of drinking problems - 58 years old, versus 68. Older adults are more likely to develop and die from pneumonia, which is why experts recommend that people age 65 and older receive a pneumococcal vaccine.

The new findings underscore the importance of vaccinating alcoholic adults as well, Dr. Antoni Torres of the University of Barcelona told Reuters Health.

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs that can be caused by various bacteria, viruses or fungi. The pneumococcal vaccine protects against infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which in the U.S. causes an estimated 500,000 cases of pneumonia and 40,000 deaths each year.

In the current study, published in the journal Chest, both current and recovering alcoholics were more likely than other patients to have pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae infection.

Current alcoholics, though, were both younger and tended to have more severe pneumonia, more often suffering symptoms like chest pain and breathlessness when they were admitted to the hospital.

Alcohol abuse is believed to make people more vulnerable to pneumonia due to its effects on the immune system. The current findings, Torres and his colleagues conclude, "strongly support" giving alcoholics the pneumococcal vaccine and, if they develop pneumonia, admitting them to the intensive care unit sooner.

SOURCE: Chest, May 2006.