Relationship between lifestyle behaviors and upper respiratory tract infections

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationship between the frequency and recovery time of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and lifestyle behaviors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary family medicine outpatient clinic between November 2015 and June 2017. Voluntary individuals who applied to the clinic for any complaint between the ages of 18 and 45 years were included in this study. Of 384 participants, the sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, and information on URTIs they had for the last 1 year were collected and analyzed. Results: The median total number of URTIs was 2.0 [interquartile range:3.0], and the median recovery time of URTIs was 5.0 [4.0] days. The frequency of URTIs in current smokers was 3.0 [2.5], while it was 2.0 [3.0] in nonsmokers and 2.0 [2.0] in former smokers (p=0.028). Daily smoking exposure time of non-smokers, daily amount of fluid consumption and number of meals consumed fast-food per month were positively correlated with the frequency of URTIs (p=0.017, p=0.037 and p=0.044, respectively). The median number of URTIs was 2.0 [3.0] in those who ventilated their house every day, and 3.5 [3.3] in those who did not (p=0.037). The median recovery time of URTIs in females was 5.0 [3.0] days, while it was 5.0 [4.0] days in males (p=0.017). There were negative correlations between the median recovery time of URTIs and age and weekly exercise duration (p=0.039 and p=0.039, respectively). Conclusion: This study shows that some lifestyle behaviors affect the frequency of URTIs and their recovery times.