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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffWhether you become ill after eating contaminated food depends on the organism, the amount of exposure, your age and your health. High-risk groups include:
- Older adults. As you get older, your immune system may not respond as quickly and as effectively to infectious organisms as when you were younger.
- Pregnant women. During pregnancy, changes in metabolism and circulation may increase the risk of food poisoning. Your reaction may be more severe during pregnancy. Rarely, your baby may get sick, too.
- Infants and young children. Their immune systems haven't fully developed.
- People with chronic disease. Having a chronic condition — such as diabetes, liver disease or AIDS — or receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer reduces your immune response.
References
- Diagnosis and management of foodborne illnesses: A primer for physicians and other health care professionals. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?ss=15&doc_id=5266&nbr=3593. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Bacteria and foodborne illness. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC). http://www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/bacteria/index.htm. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Foodborne illness. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/foodborneinfections_g.htm. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Basics for handling food safely. United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Basics_for_Safe_Food_Handling.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Diagnosis and management of foodborne illnesses: A primer for physicians and other health care professionals. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2004;53:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5304a1.htm. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Avoid foodborne illness: Fight BAC! American Medical Association. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/36/foodborne_patient.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Listeriosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/listeriosis_gi.html. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Conlon CP. Food-borne and water-borne infections. In: Cohen J, et al. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/132803244-4/0/1209/288.html?tocnode=49354199&fromURL=288.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02407-6..50095-7_3004. Accessed April 21, 2009.
