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Early determinants of first hospital admissions for asthma and acute bronchitis among Swedish children

L Bråbäck1, O Björ, G Nordahl

  • 1Mid-Sweden Research and Development Centre, Sundsvall Hospital, Sundsvall, Sweden. lennart.braback@lvn.se

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|March 26, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal factors like maternal smoking significantly increase early childhood asthma hospitalizations. However, socioeconomic factors also play a role, meaning eliminating smoking alone won't drastically reduce admissions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Prenatal and perinatal factors influence early childhood respiratory illnesses.
  • Understanding age-specific risk factors for asthma and acute bronchitis is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how prenatal and perinatal factors affect first-time hospital admissions for asthma and acute bronchitis across different childhood ages.
  • To differentiate between asthma/bronchitis-specific and non-specific hospital admission risk factors.

Main Methods:

  • Linked Swedish Medical Birth Registry and National Hospital Discharge Registry data for 214,276 children born 1987-1988.
  • Analyzed first admissions for asthma, acute bronchitis, and gastroenteritis from birth to 1995.
  • Assessed dose-response relationships between risk factors and hospital admissions.

Main Results:

  • Maternal smoking, low gestational age, young maternal age, and older siblings correlated with admissions before age 2.
  • Very premature infants exposed to heavy maternal smoking had a 10-fold higher hospitalization risk.
  • Male gender and low educational level were independent determinants across all ages; older siblings had mixed effects.

Conclusions:

  • Asthma epidemiology varies significantly by age group.
  • Maternal smoking is a key factor for early admissions, often in conjunction with other perinatal and socioeconomic factors.
  • Eliminating maternal smoking alone would yield limited reduction in early childhood hospital admissions without addressing other determinants.
Abstract

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