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Age:
the incidence of ARI is high in infancy and declines only slightly
after the second year of life. Hospitalization for ARI is the highest
among children less than 6 months of age, in general.
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Gender:
some community based studies showed that boys are slightly more
likely to have pneumonia than girls. In others, no significance
differences were detected.
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Type
of feeding: breast feeding has long been believed to provide
numerous health benefits and protection against infectious diseases
(viral, bacterial and parasitic). Some studies showed that breast
milk provides more protection against ARI.
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Children
of low birth weight (LBW) under 2500 gm have a higher % of bronchitis
and admission to hospital. Children under 5 years of age with history
of LBW are 3.2 times more likely to have ARI and are more prone
to severe types of ARIs.
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Malnutrition:
is most common in developing countries and it has been shown to
increase both the frequency and severity of ARI episodes and ARIs
are a common cause of severe morbidity in areas where malnutrition
is a major problem.
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Immunization:
considered as the most effective public health intervention of all
and the major strategy in the control of ARI. Measles and pertussis
vaccines significantly reduce ARIs mortality in addition to diphtheria
and tuberculosis vaccine.
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Chronic
Diseases: presence of co-existing or previous cardio respiratory
illnesses and anomalies may lead to more complications.
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