Why do pneumonias often end fatally in old age? | Pneumonia in old age

Why do pneumonias often end fatally in old age?

In old age, the body generally no longer has as many resources as in younger years. For example, the immune system is not as strong as it used to be, so pneumonia is more common. Pneumonia is a serious disease that demands a lot of strength from the body.

Young, otherwise healthy people are better able to cope with this effort than older people who have other illnesses. Especially the dreaded complication of the spread of the disease in the body often ends fatally in old age. Often the other organs that become infected (heart, kidneys) are also already diseased (heart failure, heart attack, kidney failure, etc.). This leads to a faster failure of the affected organs and thus to a fatal complication.