Table 1. Characteristics of Patients and Hospitals among Pediatric Asthma Hospitalizations in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 1999-2007.
| All pediatric asthma hospitalizations | Pediatric asthma hospitalizations with corresponding air pollutant data1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Patient Characteristics | weighted % | weighted % |
|
| ||
| Female | 38.7 | 38.9 |
| Race | ||
| White | 28.8 | 18.9 |
| Black | 25.6 | 32.1 |
| Hispanic | 15.3 | 21.4 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 1.6 | 2.4 |
| Native American | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Other | 3.9 | 6.8 |
| Unreported | 24.5 | 18.0 |
| Median household income for patient zip code | ||
| 1st quartile | 26.4 | 28.1 |
| 2nd quartile | 27.1 | 24.8 |
| 3rd quartile | 23.1 | 22.7 |
| 4th quartile | 23.4 | 24.4 |
| Primary Payer | ||
| Medicare | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Medicaid | 46.7 | 49.1 |
| Private including HMO | 45.1 | 42.9 |
| Self-pay | 5.2 | 6.5 |
| No charge | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Other | 2.7 | 1.4 |
| Hospital characteristics | ||
| Region | ||
| Northeast | 24.8 | 47.8 |
| Midwest | 19.8 | 16.1 |
| South | 38.4 | 6.4 |
| West | 16.9 | 29.7 |
| Urban location | 86.7 | 99.8 |
| Teaching hospital | 57.5 | 84.0 |
1
Hospitalizations with data available for all six pollutants were included in bivariate and multivariable analyses