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Pathogens related to mortality increased with age
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The number of pathogens related to death increases as people grow older, according to researchers from the Center for Infectious Disease Control Netherlands.
“Although winter peaks in overall death counts are largely attributed to influenza and sometimes cold temperatures, the contribution of other common seasonal viruses and bacteria to these peaks in mortality in elderly persons is not entirely clear,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers used regression models on weekly time series to determine associations between death and pathogen circulation. The data were obtained from 1999 to 2007 and the study included 2.5 million people divided into three age groups: 65 to 74 years, 75 to 84 years and at least 85 years. Pathogens analyzed included influenza A, influenza B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza, enterovirus, rotavirus, norovirus, Campylobacter and Salmonella.
In all age groups, influenza A and RSV were associated with mortality. In the two oldest age groups, influenza B and parainfluenza were also associated with mortality. In those aged at least 85 years, norovirus was also a predictor of mortality. None of the bacteria were significantly associated in any age group.
Influenza A and RSV were the most common pathogens associated with death. In the oldest group, 0.3% to 5.9% of deaths were associated with influenza A and 3.1% to 4.4% of deaths were associated with RSV. For three of the seasons, RSV caused more deaths than influenza A.
“An important limitation of our study is that there may be other pathogens with a (currently) unknown association with mortality and/or for which robust time series were not available, which could also play a role in elderly mortality, but which we cannot detect,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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