Psychosocial Risk Factors for Upper Respiratory Infection: Demographic Predictors of Outpatient Treatment

摘要

Upper respiratory infections (URI) have been reported to be more common among military recruits who were younger, white, and relatively highly educated. This study attempted to replicate these findings to identify demographic components for a risk profile for URI. None of the previously reported associations replicated. One new finding was a lower URI rate among non-black, non-white recruits. This trend merits further study because it parallels recent findings regarding race and hospitalization for respiratory disease in the Navy. Further study of the finding that URI were more common among those with less education can be recommended on similar grounds. Additional research should examine the possibility that the race differences result from differences in seeking medical care. This need arises because a similar race differences for musculoskeletal problems was noted in this study. However, even if the race and education trends noted here are replicable, their combined predictive power will be too weak to regard them as a satisfactory risk profile for URI.