Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Dec;56(12):1218-23.
doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(03)00171-9.

A prospective, community-based study on virologic assessment among elderly people with and without symptoms of acute respiratory infection

Judith M Graat  1 , Evert G Schouten, Marie-Louise A Heijnen, Frans J Kok, Esther G M Pallast, Sabine C de Greeff, J Wendelien Dorigo-Zetsma
Affiliations

A prospective, community-based study on virologic assessment among elderly people with and without symptoms of acute respiratory infection

Judith M Graat et al. J Clin Epidemiol. 2003 Dec.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Community-based elderly studies concerning microbiology of acute respiratory infections are scarce. Data on subclinical infections are even totally absent, although asymptomatic persons might act as a source of respiratory infections.

Methods: In a 1-year community-based study, we prospectively investigated the possible virologic cause of acute respiratory infections in 107 symptomatic case episodes and 91 symptom-free control periods. Participants, persons >/=60 years, reported daily the presence of respiratory symptoms in a diary. Virologic assessment was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serology.

Results: In 58% of the case episodes a pathogen was demonstrated, the most common being rhinoviruses (32%), coronaviruses (17%), and influenzaviruses (7%). The odds ratio for demonstrating a virus in cases with symptoms vs. controls without symptoms was 30.0 (95% confidence interval 10.2-87.6). In 4% of the symptom-free control periods a virus was detected.

Conclusions: This study supports the importance of rhinovirus infections in community-dwelling elderly persons, whereas asymptomatic elderly persons can also harbor pathogens as detected by PCR, and thus might be a source of infection for their environment.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Miller R.A. The aging immune system: primer and prospectus. Science. 1996;273:70–74. - PubMed
    1. Nicholson K.G, Kent J, Hammersley V, Cancio E. Acute viral infections of upper respiratory tract in elderly people living in the community: comparative, prospective, population based study of disease burden. BMJ. 1997;315:1060–1064. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Graat J.M, Schouten E.G, Kok F.J. Effect of daily vitamin E and multivitamin-mineral supplementation on acute respiratory tract infections in elderly persons—a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002;288:715–721. - PubMed
    1. Makela M.J, Puhakka T, Ruuskanen O, Leinonen M, Saikku P, Kimpimaki M, Blomqvist S, Hyypia T, Arstila P. Viruses and bacteria in the etiology of the common cold. J Clin Microbiol. 1998;36:539–542. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chernoff R. Meeting the nutritional needs of the elderly in the institutional setting. Nutr Rev. 1994;52:132–136. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances