Age, gender and seasonal patterns of asthma in emergency departments of southern Puerto Rico
P. R. health sci. j
; 21(3): 207-212, Sept. 2002.
Artigo
em Inglês
| LILACS
| ID: lil-334014
Biblioteca responsável:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
We report findings derived from 55,547 emergency department records of asthmatic patients in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico over a period of six years. The analysis of the data revealed that mean age of the asthmatic cases were 18.7 +/- 17.8 years, with 45 percent of the patients in the 1-9 years age range, and proportionally decreasing with age. In children 1-9 years the percent of males was 1.5 times that of females, and in 10-19 year-old group, admissions to the emergency room for males and females was identical, and between 20-69 years of age, the female ratio ranged from 1.5-2.12. The data also demonstrated that there is a seasonal variation in the asthma attacks reaching its peak in December, and the lowest in June. In conclusion, in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, emergency department usage due to asthma attacks show a seasonal variation, and males are more affected by asthma at younger ages while females are more affected at older ages. These findings strongly suggest that emergency department usage due to asthma attacks is highly common and represents an important place where specialized health care delivery is needed. With the implementation of dedicated asthma centers, specialized health care delivery can be easily accomplished. In addition, our data supports the that asthma should be declared a public health problem and a reportable disease.
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Coleções:
Bases de dados internacionais
Base de dados:
LILACS
Assunto principal:
Asma
/
Estações do Ano
/
Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência
Aspecto:
Determinantes sociais da saúde
Limite:
Adolescente
/
Adulto
/
Criança
/
Criança, pré-escolar
/
Feminino
/
Humanos
/
Lactente
/
Masculino
País/Região como assunto:
Caribe
/
Porto Rico
Idioma:
Inglês
Revista:
P. R. health sci. j
Assunto da revista:
Medicina
Ano de publicação:
2002
Tipo de documento:
Artigo
País de afiliação:
Porto Rico
/
Estados Unidos
Instituição/País de afiliação:
Ponce School of Medicine/PR
/
University of North Texas Health Science Center/US