17 Evecare • Vol 11 • No. 2 • Sep–Dec 2023 A recent study published in The Lancet evaluated the association between early childhood lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and the risk of premature adult mortality due to respiratory diseases. This longitudinal observational study included data of 3589 participants from the Medical Research Council, the National Survey of Health and Development (England, Scotland, and Wales). They were followed up through the ages of 26 to 73 years. Of the 3589 participants, 913 participants had LRTIs during early childhood (at < 2 y of age); they were at an increased risk of mortality due to respiratory diseases by the age of 73 years than those who did not have LRTI in early childhood (P = .021). These findings suggest that children with LRTIs by 2 years of age were almost twice as likely for an increased risk of premature death from respiratory diseases as adults, and these infections account for one-fifth of respiratory-cause deaths. This association remained even after adjusting for multiple markers of childhood socioeconomic conditions and adult smoking. Childhood LRTIs were not associated with other causes of death, thus suggesting a direct connection between early childhood LRTIs and the development or prognosis of adult respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Source: Allinson JP, et al. Lancet. 2023;401(10383):1183–1193. A study published in BMC Medicine determined the differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD)–free life expectancy in people with poor sleep profiles. The self-reported sleep data of 308,683 middleaged adults were retrieved from the UK Biobank. Of these, the data of 140,181 patients had captured primary care and inpatient records too. Their (n = 140,181) clinical sleep disorders were classified into insomnia, sleep-related breathing disorders, and other sleep disorders. The CVD-free life expectancies in women and men with poor sleep and healthy sleep were 31.46 and 33.26 and 27.96 and 30.27 years, respectively. Men with clinical insomnia or sleep-related breathing disorders lost 3.84 or 6.73 years of CVD-free life, respectively. Women with sleep-related respiratory difficulties or other sleep disorders lost 7.32 or 1.43 years of CVD-free life, respectively. This study’s findings suggest that poor sleep is negatively associated with CVD-free life, especially in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders. Source: Huang BH, et al. BMC Med. 2023;21(1):75. Early Childhood Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Risk Factor of Premature Adult Mortality Effect of Sleep Quality on Cardiovascular Disease–Free Life Expectancy
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