title: Risk factors for asthma admissions in children.
abstract: Bronchial asthma is related to a high morbidity rate, leading to an increasing frequency of emergency room visits and hospital admissions. The aim of this study was to identify severity risk factors for childhood asthma related to hospitalization. The authors studied 124 children admitted to the hospital for asthma, during a 2-year period, correlating the obtained data with a sample of outpatients with asthma matched by age, gender, and socioeconomic status. A standardized questionnaire and skin-prick tests (SPTs) were performed on all children. The significant and independent risk factors identified for hospital admission were prior asthma hospitalization (OR = 7.63; 95% CI = 1.5-39.6; p = 0.01) and last-year admission (OR = 3.18; 95% CI = 1.1-8.9; p = 0.02), environmental tobacco-smoke exposure (OR = 6.63; 95% CI = 2.5-17.8; p = 0.002), allergen sensitization (OR = 3.86; 95% CI = 1.4-10.7; p = 0.009), family history of maternal asthma (OR = 3.58; 95% CI = 1.3-9.6; p = 0.01), and onset of symptoms before 12 months of age (OR = 2.76; 95% CI = 1.0-7.9; p = 0.06). Attendance at day care or kindergarten (OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.2-0.9; p = 0.04) and large family size (OR = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.1-0.8; p = 0.01) could be protective factors. Our results stress the importance of early diagnosis and specialized medical care of childhood asthma, mainly in high-risk children, with emphasis on medication planning and the establishment of preventive measures such as environmental tobacco smoke avoidance and limitation of aeroallergen exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunoallergy, Dona Estefânia Hospital, Rua Jacinta Marto, 1169-045 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Angela P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Gaspar
authors.forename: Mário A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Morais-Almeida
authors.forename: Graça C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: Sara R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Prates
authors.forename: Rita A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Câmara
authors.forename: Nila M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Godinho
authors.forename: Cristina S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Arêde
authors.forename: José E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rosado-Pinto
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012882:Skin Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors