Gender Patterns of Adult Asthma Hospitalizations

Article Outline

• Rationale
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• Copyright

Back to Article Outline

Rationale 

Female adults predominate asthma hospitalizations compared with men. In order to better understand this gender gap, we examined patterns in asthma hospitalization rates by age and gender.

Back to Article Outline

Methods 

A retrospective analysis of 470,889 hospitalizations in New York state between 1990 through 2005 with asthma as a principal diagnosis was performed for patients 15 years or older. New York census data was used as a reference population. Demographic characteristics were examined and hospitalization rates were calculated for different age groups.

Back to Article Outline

Results 

After peaking in the mid-1990's the overall hospitalization rate declined and plateaued. Females had higher hospitalization rates than males for the entire study period. Age specific hospitalization rates showed a gradual increase of hospitalization rates after the second decade of life. The female hospitalization rate was approximately double that of males except for the under 25 and over 85 age groups. The female to male hospitalization rate ratio from 1990 and 2005 was 2.05 and 2.26 respectively. The female to male hospitalization rate ratio was highest between the ages of 40-54 years which was observed throughout the study period. Exclusion of patients with concurrent COPD or with same year readmissions yielded similar findings.

Back to Article Outline

Conclusions 

Females are particularly predisposed to severe asthma during the peri-menopausal period. In addition, the gender gap between female and male hospitalizations continues to widen. Understanding the role of gender in asthma exacerbations may be crucial in developing new approaches to reducing asthma morbidity.