title: Diagnostic and socio-demographic changes in multiple hospital admission in children under two over a five-year period.
abstract: Diagnostic and socio-demographic changes for children experiencing multiple hospital admissions (three or more) before the age of two years in two whole-year birth cohorts five years apart-1980 and 1985-are reported. The increase in multiple admissions between 1980 and 1985 was distributed evenly throughout the diagnostic groups. Although a disproportionate increase in admissions per child for asthma was noted, the results suggest that the increase accounts for only a small proportion of the total increase. A marked trend to earlier age of first admission is reported. Low-birthweight infants, infants of young mothers and infants from deprived areas of the city are overrepresented in the multiple admission groups in both cohorts. There was a marked increase in the proportion of low-birthweight infants in the multiple admissions group between 1980 and 1985 compared with a decrease in the percentage of low-birthweight infants in the control group over the same period. The study results are discussed with particular reference to the unexplained increase in early childhood admissions.
authors.affiliation: School of Postgraduate Medical Education, University of Warwick, Coventry.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Logan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000145:classification / Q000639:trends*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D009017:Morbidity; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000639:trends*; D011203:Poverty; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors