Smoking, alcohol use, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome as risk factors for community-acquired pneumonia

Abstract

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) continues to be a cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Much recent attention in this area of research has been focused on host factors associated with the infection. This article will discuss 4 diverse, yet often coexistent conditions, namely, smoking, excessive alcohol use, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. While all these conditions can be considered to be largely associated with lifestyle factors, they represent important risk factors for CAP. All can lead to acquired host immune suppression that underlies their risk for the development of severe CAP.