Hospitalization rates from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection rose with age. Also, hospitalizations were more likely among nursing home residents and older adults with other health issues, according to a new study.
People living in nursing homes were twice as likely than community-dwelling older adults to be hospitalized for RSV. This may have been a result of close contact with others, authors said. The [report](https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2025.30.10.2400364) was published in _Eurosurveillance_ on March 13.
Researchers examined data from 269 men and 275 women who were over the age of 60 from the 2016-2017 to the 2019-2020 RSV seasons. All of the participants were from the Navarre region in Spain, and had confirmed RSV infections.
Over the course of four seasons, RSV led to an average of 84.7 hospitalizations for every 100,000 people over the age of 60. The hospitalization rate differed based on age and risk factors, the researchers found.
The older people were, the more likely they were to be hospitalized with [RSV](https://www.mcknights.com/news/rsv-vaccine-had-high-efficacy-in-older-adults-in-first-two-seasons-study/). For instance, the rate increased twofold in people who were 70 years old compared to those aged 60 to 64. It went up three-, four- and six-fold in those who were 75, 80 and 85 years old, respectively, compared to those in the same younger age bracket. The highest rate of hospitalizations was in those who were 85 to 94 years old, hitting more than 200 hospitalizations for every 100,000 people, the data showed.
The average annual rate of hospitalization did not differ substantially between males and females. People 75 years and older were 38.6% of the study population but accounted for 76.1% of all RSV hospitalizations.
Higher hospitalization rates were observed in people with several chronic conditions, which could have been due to a higher likelihood of infection and increased severity of RSV infection. The condition that raised the risk for hospitalization most was blood cancer, while chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was also a significant risk factor.
The most common chronic condition in older adults who were hospitalized with RSV was cardiovascular disease, which doubled the risk of hospitalization for people infected with RSV. Other conditions linked with higher rates of RSV hospitalization included asthma, severe obesity, diabetes and chronic kidney disease.