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Epidemiology of asthma exacerbations and their relation with environmental factors in the B asque C ountry
Author(s) -
Altzibar J. M.,
TamayoUria I.,
De Castro V.,
Aginagalde X.,
Albizu M. V.,
Lertxundi A.,
Benito J.,
Busca P.,
Antepara I.,
Landa J.,
Mokoroa O.,
Dorronsoro M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical and experimental allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.462
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2222
pISSN - 0954-7894
DOI - 10.1111/cea.12419
Subject(s) - asthma , medicine , epidemiology , incidence (geometry) , bronchiolitis , asthma exacerbations , pediatrics , demography , immunology , respiratory system , physics , sociology , optics
Summary Background Asthma is a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease characterised by reversible airflow obstruction and hyperreactivity and inflammation of the airways. Factors that cause and/or trigger asthma attacks include host‐related factors (genetic predisposition, obesity and sex) and environmental factors (allergens, infections, occupational sensitisation, smoking status, pollution and diet). Objective To describe the epidemiology of asthma exacerbations ( AE s) in the B asque C ountry and to explore its relationship with potentially associated environmental variables. We studied a total of 31 579 emergency department ( ED ) visits and 28 189 hospitalisations due to asthma. We describe the trends, incidence, seasonality and the influence of age and sex, as well as of exposure to NO 2 , CO , PM , O 3 , and pollen, temperature, relative humidity and flu status. We calculated the Pearson′s R correlation coefficient for the study variables. Results The incidence was 486 and 88.9 cases per 100 000 people for ED visits and hospitalisations, respectively. Slightly over half (53.5%) of the ED cases were male, while females represented 62.6% of the hospital admissions. Hospitalisations are tending to decrease in children and increase in over 64‐year‐olds. Peaks in cases occur at the beginning of autumn in children and in winter in adults. AE s were correlated positively with exposure to NO 2 , CO and to the influenza virus and negatively with temperature and exposure to O 3 . These relationships vary, however, with age and season. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance Rates of hospitalisation for AE s and trends in these rates over time are different in adults and children with the patterns varying by sex, season and environmental conditions.