Asthma-related hospital use among finnish asthmatics of working age

• Published in: Public health (London) Vol. 107; no. 3; pp. 163 - 170
• Main Author: Tuuponen, T.T.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.05.1993
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Asthma - therapy; Female; Finland; Hospitals - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Admission - statistics & numerical data; Patient Admission - trends; Utilization Review
• ISSN: 0033-3506; 1476-5616
• DOI: 10.1016/S0033-3506(05)80437-8

The aim was to examine asthma-related use of hospital services among persons of working age (15–64 years) in Finland on the basis of hospital discharge registers over a period of 15 years. A total of 155,080 asthma-induced treatment periods and 1,270,453 hospitalisation days were observed in the working-age population during the period concerned. Although the use of hospital services was found to be smallest in the second youngest male age-group (25–34 years), the numbers of treatment periods and hospitalisation days observed among men relative to population were found to increase by age. Middle-aged (35–44) female asthmatics tend to use hospital services more often than men of the same age, but no difference was observed between the sexes in the oldest age-group (55–64 years). The long-term monitoring and guidance of asthmatics and the specialist services required should be coordinated within the basic health care system as in the case of other chronic diseases. The long-term monitoring of asthmatics should be performed by general practitioners, and in the light of the present findings special emphasis should be placed on subjects aged 35 years and older.