title: Changing age-pattern of hospitalisation risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in men and women in Canada.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the changing pattern of age distributions of hospitalisation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among Canadian men and women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  257,604 COPD inpatients aged 55-90 years with 463,089 hospital admissions during a 3-year study period (1994/95, 1995/96 and 1996/97) in Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  COPD listed as one of the first five underlying diagnoses (broad definition, 463,089 hospitalisations) or as first diagnosis (narrow definition, 142,770 hospitalisations).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, men were more likely to have hospitalisations for COPD and had a higher proportion of death at hospital than did women. The 3-year cumulative incidence was 42.2/1,000 for the broadly defined COPD hospitalisation and 14.0/1,000 for the narrowly defined COPD hospitalisation, and steadily increased with increasing age. The relative risk for women versus men gradually increased with decreasing age, and was significantly greater than unity in the 55-59 year group for narrowly defined COPD hospitalisation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In terms of impact on secondary care COPD is a disease of the elderly and is becoming more common in women, particularly in younger age groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8M5. ychen@uottawa.ca
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dales
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors