Children, older adults bear brunt of lower respiratory infections

Lower respiratory infections (LRIs) continue to pose a serious health problem across the globe, particularly in vulnerable areas and among children aged <5 years and adults >70 years, reveals a study.

A group of researchers obtained relevant data, including annual LRI deaths, mortality attributable to the four high-burden aetiologies, and 14 risk factors during 1990‒2019, from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. They quantified the temporal trends by calculating the estimated annual percentage changes (EAPC) using a linear regression model.

The global age-standardized mortality due to LRIs dropped by an average of 2.39 percent (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.33‒2.45) per year, from 66.67 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to 35.72 deaths per 100,000 in 2019.

LRIs were most prevalent in low sociodemographic index regions, in South Asia, and in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eighteen GBD regions saw a decrease in age-standardized mortality, but Southern Latin America registered an increase (EAPC, 1.20, 95 percent CI, 1.03‒1.37).

Notably, LRIs resulted in many deaths among children under 5 years and adults older than 70 years. The leading aetiology was Streptococcus pneumoniae, which accounted for >50 percent of LRI deaths.

In 2019, the three leading risk factors for LRI were household air pollution from solid fuels, child wasting, and ambient particulate matter pollution.

“Future research focusing on the aetiologies and risk factors for LRIs are needed to provide targeted and updated prevention strategies,” the researchers said.