Asthma-related hospital use among Finnish asthmatics of working age.
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.
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Päivärinne Hospital, Jokirinne, Finland.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014600:Utilization Review