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Regional differences in pediatric asthma hospital admissions: National data from Israel 1996–2017
Author(s) -
Reiter Joel,
Karakis Isabella,
Grotto Itamar,
Novack Lena,
Haklai Ziona,
Applbaum Yael,
Steiman Ada,
Gordon EthelSherry,
Riener Eva,
Kerem Eitan,
CohenCymberknoh Malena
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pediatric pulmonology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.866
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1099-0496
pISSN - 8755-6863
DOI - 10.1002/ppul.25300
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , pediatrics , christian ministry , demography , population , cohort , hospital admission , environmental health , philosophy , theology , sociology
Background Asthma is a common chronic childhood illness and frequent cause of hospitalization. A decline in hospital admission rates was noted up to the 1990s, however, trends are not as clear since the turn of the century. This study aimed to assess the rates and regional differences of asthma admissions over more than two decades using the national Ministry of Health database, which registers data from all the hospitals. Methods A retrospective cohort study, analysis of all pediatric asthma admissions, for Patients 1–14 years old, between 1996 and 2017 as recorded by the National Hospital Discharge Registry, was performed. Asthma admission rates were calculated per 1000 age adjusted residents, using the number of admission cases as the numerator, and age specific population size as the denominator. Results The annual asthma hospitalization rate decreased in the entire pediatric population from 2.14 in 1996–0.89 in 2017. Children in the 1–4 year age group comprised most of the hospital admissions, and most of the decline was attributable to this age group. Significant differences in hospitalizations were found between different regions as well as differences in the rate of decline in asthma hospitalizations with the lowest admission rate in the Jerusalem district, highest in Haifa, northern and southern Israeli regions and the greatest rate of decline in the Tel‐Aviv district. Conclusion This nationwide study, over more than two decades, shows clear regional differences in the rates of asthma admissions as well as regional differences in the rates of decline.