Childhood Asthma Hospitalization Rates, Childhood Asthma Prevalence, and Their Relationships in Erie County, New York

• Published in: The Journal of asthma 2005-01, Vol.42 (8), p.653-658
• Main Authors: Lin, Shao, Kielb, Christine, Chen, Zhongliang, Hwang, Syni-An
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; Asthma - epidemiology; Asthma - therapy; asthma hospitalization; asthma prevalence; Black or African American; Black People; Child; Child Welfare; Child, Preschool; children; Cross-Sectional Studies; demographics; Female; Hispanic or Latino; hospitalization-to-prevalence ratio; Humans; Infant; Infant Welfare; Infant, Newborn; Male; New York - epidemiology; Patient Admission; Prevalence; Sex Factors; Statistics as Topic; White People
• ISSN: 0277-0903; 1532-4303
• DOI: 10.1080/02770900500264846

We estimated asthma hospitalization rates, prevalence, and their relationships for children under age 15 in Erie County, New York. Information on hospitalizations was obtained from hospital discharge data, and prevalence was estimated through a mailed survey of 9271 children. The hospitalization rate was 2.3 per 1000, the lifetime prevalence was 14.1%, and the hospitalization-to-prevalence ratio was 16.3 per 1000 prevalent cases. Hospitalization rates and hospitalization-to-prevalence ratios were higher among young children relative to older children; and hospitalization rates, prevalence, and hospitalization-to-prevalence ratios were higher among males, blacks, and Buffalo residents, suggesting greater severity, poorer management, and/or less access to care among these groups. The hospitalization-to-prevalence ratio may be useful in estimating prevalence from more easily available hospitalization data.