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Aging, Infection and Immunity

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The Epidemiology of Aging

Abstract

Older adults are at high risk for developing an infection. Once an infection occurs, older adults experience high short- and long-term morbidity and mortality. A number of risk factors (e.g., living in a long-term care facility, chronic disease, malnutrition, age-related immune dysfunction, polypharmacy, difficulty in accessing health care, increased use of prosthetic devices and medical instrumentation) place older adults at high risk for increased susceptibility to infection, and older adults tend to have poor outcomes from infection. Common clinical infections in older adults include pneumonia, urinary tract infections, sepsis, gastroenteritis and viral infections. Serious infection in older adults can result in an increased risk of adverse events well beyond the patient’s hospital stay. Acute infections may worsen chronic diseases in older adults, which may in turn put the older adult at a greater risk of serious infection. Altering modifiable risk factors (e.g., inactivity, malnutrition) may reduce the risk of infection in older adults. Vaccination remains an important strategy to prevent infections despite their variable efficacy in older adults.

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Abbreviations

APC:

Antigen Presenting Cells

ASB:

Asymptomatic Bacteriuria

CAP:

Community-Acquired Pneumonia

CDC:

Centers for Disease Control

CMS:

Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services

DC:

Dendritic Cell

H:

Hemagglutinin

H2:

Histamine

IL:

Interleukin

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharide

LTCF:

Long-Term Care Facilities

MRSA:

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

N:

Neuraminidase

NK:

Natural Killer cells

PHN:

Postherpetic Neuralgia

RSV:

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

TCR:

T Cell Receptor

TLR:

Toll-Like Receptor

US:

United States

UTI:

Urinary Tract Infection

VCV:

Varicella Zoster Virus

VRE:

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Critical Care Medicine and CRISMA Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh, 606D Scaife Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Sachin S. Kale MD & Sachin Yende MD MS

  2. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Senior Care Institute, University of Pittsburgh, 5200 Centre Ave., Suite 405, 15232, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Namita Ahuja MD

Authors
  1. Sachin S. Kale MD
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  2. Namita Ahuja MD
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  3. Sachin Yende MD MS
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sachin Yende MD MS .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, A527 Crabtree Hall, DeSoto Street 130, Pittsburgh, 15261, Pennsylvania, USA

    Anne B. Newman

  2. Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, DeSoto Street, A510 Crabtree 130, Pittsburgh, 15261, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jane A. Cauley

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Kale, S.S., Ahuja, N., Yende, S. (2012). Aging, Infection and Immunity. In: Newman, A., Cauley, J. (eds) The Epidemiology of Aging. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5061-6_14

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