Is Pneumonia a Risk Factor or a Risk Marker for Long Term Mortality?
Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and short term mortality (usually measured in the first 30 days after diagnosis) (1 4) However, the potential long term consequences of pneumonia remain an area of intense evaluation. Several studies have focused on the long term risk for mortality among patients with pneumonia. In most studies, patients with more severe pneumonia had a higher risk for long term mortality relative to patients with less severe pneumonia. As older patients with debilitating comorbidities, including diabetes and glucose homeostasis disturbances, are usually classified in the higher risk categories, this could explain, at least in part, the higher risk observed among patients with more severe pneumonia (3 8)
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine