Hospital admissions for allergies rose 7.7% in England

National Health Service hospital admissions for allergies increased 7.7% to 20,320 cases in England during the year ending in February, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

“The statistics … provide fresh insight into hospital admissions for allergies, which have increased by almost 8% in the last year,” Kingsley Manning, Health and Social Care Information Center (HSCIC) chair, said in a press release. “In the 12 months to February, 61.8% (12,560) of all allergy-related hospital admissions were emergencies, a rise of just over 6%.

“This vital information on allergy admissions in England paints a clear picture for policy makers of the scale of hospital inpatient care for these conditions.”

Patients aged 0 to 4 years had the highest rate of admission for allergies, affecting males more than females in that age range, the release said. As patients grew, the rate decreased, and females had greater admission rates.

Anaphylactic admissions accounted for 20% of admissions, an increase of 9.9% from the previous year. Allergic rhinitis admissions increased by 10.9% in males and 13.3% in female patients, the release said. Food allergy-related hospital admissions rose by 6.4%.

Emergency adrenaline products were prescribed at a rate of 353 per 100,000 head of the population, or one item per 283 people, according to the release.