health

Cystic fibrosis is a fatal disease. The average life expectancy of patients is
36.8 years, with males on average living longer than females. This is a dramatic
increase over the 1950s, when few patients with CF lived long enough
to start elementary school. About 80 percent of patients live to be adults; a
few patients live into their forties. Most patients die of end-stage lung disease.
Most males with CF (97 percent) cannot father children. Women
with CF are more likely to be fertile; however, they must watch their diet
very carefully during pregnancy and may find that pregnancy worsens the
symptoms of CF.