Characteristics of the study population
| RSV n=152, n (%) | Influenza n=573, n (%) | P value | |
| Male | 75 (49.3) | 262 (45.7) | 0.427 |
| Age (years) | |||
| Range | 23–96 | 18–100 | |
| Mean (SD) | 73.3 (15.1) | 68.1 (18.4) | 0.002 |
| Median (IQR) | 73 (65–86) | 71 (59–82) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | |||
| Range | 15.4–43.2 | 14.9–51.2 | |
| Mean (SD) | 27.0 (5.7) | 27.3 (5.7) | 0.297 |
| Median (IQR) | 25.6 (22.9–29.2) | 27.0 (23.4–30.8) | |
| Smoking status | |||
| Smoking | 26 (17.1) | 89 (15.5) | 0.454 |
| Non-smoker | 89 (58.6) | 323 (56.4) | |
| Housing status | |||
| Independent | 102 (67.1) | 418 (72.9) | 0.155 |
| Supported | 50 (32.9) | 155 (27.1) | |
| Number of underlying conditions | |||
| Range | 0–6 | 0–7 | |
| Mean (SD) | 2.32 (1.4) | 1.93 (1.5) | 0.003 |
| Median (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | |
| Hypertension | 92 (60.5) | 261 (45.5) | 0.001 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 51 (33.6) | 154 (26.9) | 0.104 |
| Heart failure | 27 (17.8) | 60 (10.5) | 0.014 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 28 (18.4) | 77 (13.4) | 0.121 |
| COPD | 20 (13.2) | 57 (9.9) | 0.253 |
| Asthma | 39 (25.7) | 135 (23.6) | 0.590 |
| Solid malignancy | 10 (6.6) | 47 (8.2) | 0.509 |
| Haematological malignancy | 7 (4.6) | 16 (2.8) | 0.257* |
| Diabetes | 34 (22.4) | 122 (21.3) | 0.774 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 12 (7.9) | 43 (7.5) | 0.872 |
| Dementia | 22 (14.5) | 71 (12.4) | 0.495 |
| Immunosuppressive medication | 11 (7.2) | 65 (11.3) | 0.142 |
Continuous variables (age, BMI, number of underlying conditions) are presented as mean and SD and median and IQR (25th–75th percentile); categorical variables are presented as number (n) and per cent (%). P values were calculated with Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and with χ2 test and Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables.
*Calculated with Fisher’s exact test.
BMI, body mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; RSV, respiratory syncytial virus.