Abstract
BACKGROUND--The aim of the study was to determine the trend and seasonal variation in hospital admissions for childhood asthma in the Athens region of Greece. METHODS--Data were obtained from hospital registries of the three main children's hospitals in Athens between 1978 and 1988. Children admitted with the diagnosis of asthma, asthmatic bronchitis, or wheezy bronchitis were included. The data were expressed as admission rates per 100,000 of the same aged population. RESULTS--There were 9795 admissions for asthma over the 11 years and the admission rate rose by 294%. Admissions among those aged 0-4 and 5-14 rose by 272% and 379% respectively. Monthly admissions showed a pronounced seasonal variation, rising during the cold damp period in the 0-4 age group, but peaking around May in the 5-14 age group. CONCLUSIONS--These findings suggest that hospital admissions due to asthma in the Athens region have increased considerably since 1978, and that clear cut seasonal variations exist which are specific to age.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Anderson H. R. Increase in hospital admissions for childhood asthma: trends in referral, severity, and readmissions from 1970 to 1985 in a health region of the United Kingdom. Thorax. 1989 Aug;44(8):614–619. doi: 10.1136/thx.44.8.614. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Apostolou E. K., Yannitsaros A. G. Atmospheric pollen in the area of Athens. Acta Allergol. 1977 Apr;32(2):109–117. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1977.tb02616.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Arlian L. G. Humidity as a factor regulating feeding and water balance of the house dust mites Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus (Acari: Pyroglyphidae). J Med Entomol. 1977 Dec 24;14(4):484–488. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/14.4.484. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Khot A., Burn R., Evans N., Lenney C., Lenney W. Seasonal variation and time trends in childhood asthma in England and Wales 1975-81. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Jul 28;289(6439):235–237. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6439.235. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mitchell E. A. International trends in hospital admission rates for asthma. Arch Dis Child. 1985 Apr;60(4):376–378. doi: 10.1136/adc.60.4.376. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Priftis K., Ziva M., Mathioudakis G., Ilia M., Grypari M., Anagnostakis J., Saxoni-Papageorgiou P. Sensitization of asthmatic children to common environmental allergens according to their residence. J Asthma. 1993;30(6):445–450. doi: 10.3109/02770909309056753. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]