Original ArticleTrends in hospital admissions due to asthma in north-west Spain from 1995 to 2007
Introduction
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, with large differences in prevalence as well as in other epidemiological aspects among different populations.1
In the last few years the prevalence of the disease appears to be stabilising in the adolescent population, although it is still increasing in the child population.2
Hospital admissions take up a significant part of the health spending on the disease, in addition to the effects on the quality of life of the patients and their families, which is especially important in the childhood population.3 There seems to have been a decreasing trend in hospital admissions due to childhood asthma in the past few years, although its magnitude and time sequence differ between geographical areas.4, 5, 6, 7
The aim of our study was to evaluate the progression of hospital admissions due to asthma over the past 13 years in the north-west of Spain.
Section snippets
Material and methods
We have retrospectively analysed all admissions due to asthma in all the Galician (Spain) Public Health Service Hospitals, between the years 1995 and 2007. All patients with asthma as the primary or secondary diagnosis (provided by the Clinic Records Department, according to ICD-9 classification) were included. The age, sex, date of admission and length of hospital stay of each patient was recorded and analysed.
There were 315,825 children (51.4% males) between 0 and 14 years of age in our
Results
There were 9106 hospital admissions with asthma as the primary or secondary diagnosis in the 13 years analysed; with a predominance of males (64% of the total admissions), and 47% were under 4 years (Table 1; Figure 1).
A decreasing trend in the number of hospital admissions due to asthma was observed during the period studied, particularly in younger males (Figure 1). The highest number of admissions was seen in 1996, with 2.91 per thousand inhabitants, gradually falling to 1.33 per thousand in
Discussion
The principal finding in our study was the gradual reduction, over the period studied, in the number of hospital admissions due to asthma, especially in boys under 4 years; similar to that described in other populations.4, 5, 6, 7
The rate of hospital admissions per inhabitant is lower than that reported for other child populations of these ages.4, 5
The decrease in hospital admissions, despite the increase in prevalence of the disease in this population group,2 is probably due to the influence
References (30)
The global burden of asthma
Chest
(2006)- et al.
Etiology of asthma exacerbations
J Allergy Clin Immunol
(2008) - et al.
de Miguel AG. Influenza vaccination coverages among children, adults, health care workers and immigrants in Spain: related factors and trends, 2003–2006
J Infect
(2008) - et al.
Associations between grass and weed pollen and emergency department visits for asthma among children in Montreal
Environ Res
(2008) - et al.
Predictors of the persistence of childhood asthma
Allergol Immunopathol (Madr)
(2008) - et al.
Understanding the seasonal pattern of childhood asthma: results from the National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS)
J Pediatr.
(2002) - et al.
Understanding the September asthma epidemic
J Allergy Clin Immunol.
(2007) - et al.
Parental smoking and lung function in healthy children and adolescents
Arch Bronconeumol
(2007) - et al.
Prevalence of asthma and rhinitis symptoms in A Coruña (Spain)
An Pediatr (Barc)
(2007) - et al.
Comparison of asthma prevalence in the ISAAC and the ECRHS. ISAAC Steering Committee and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood
Eur Respir J
(2000)
Stabilization of asthma prevalence among adolescents and increase among schoolchildren (ISAAC phases I and III) in Spain
Allergy
Trends in hospitalization for childhood asthma in Finland in 1996–2004
Acta Paediatr.
Hospitalizations for childhood asthma in Athens, Greece, from 1978 to 2000
Pediatr Allergy Immunol
Decrease in childhood asthma admissions in Athens, Greece from 2001 to 2005
Acta Paediatr
50 years of asthma: UK trends from 1955 to 2004
Thorax
Cited by (11)
Global Asthma Network survey suggests more national asthma strategies could reduce burden of asthma
2017, Allergologia et ImmunopathologiaCitation Excerpt :They developed and called it a comprehensive nationwide Asthma Programme and over the next decade this lessened the burden of asthma on individuals and society and more than halved the total asthma costs (healthcare, drugs, disability, and productivity loss)6,7 and these benefits have continued.8 This model was followed several years later by several other national strategies within the European Union9 including France,10 Portugal,11 and Spain.12 In other places, independent approaches have been used with improved outcomes, including Australia,13 the city of Salvador, Brazil,14 Canada,15 Costa Rica,16 Singapore,17 Tonga18 and Turkey.19
A nationwide survey of the severity, comorbidity, and mortality of hospitalized patients with asthma in taiwan
2013, Pediatrics and NeonatologyCitation Excerpt :Comorbidities of disease may cause asthma to be more severe resulting in increased death, especially among older patients. In many studies, it has been demonstrated that the mortality rate increased with advanced age despite the presence of comorbidities.7–20 In the current study, no mortality event was defined as “death from asthma” in any patient aged below 60 years; another study reported the existence of death resulting from asthma in patients aged 60 years or less (rate of mortality for 45–64 years old was 1.5 per 100,000 during 2002–2003).17
The role of an allergy and clinical Immunology department in supporting inpatients admitted to care in other specialties
2022, Revista Portuguesa de ImunoalergologiaWill the asthma revolution fostered by biologics also benefit adult ICU patients?
2021, Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyTime to Asthma-Related Readmission in Children Admitted to the ICU for Asthma
2017, Pediatric Critical Care MedicineAsthma: Treatment and prevention of pulmonary exacerbations
2017, ERS Monograph