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Asthma-related PCP visits increased after summer break
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Asthma exacerbations and unscheduled visits to a primary care physician were associated with the start of the school year, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
Herman Avner Cohen, MD, of the Pediatric Ambulatory Community Clinic in Tikva, Israel, and colleagues evaluated 919,873 children aged 2 to 15 years with an underlying diagnosis of asthma.
Cohen and colleagues analyzed data from these children between 2005 and 2009 to determine seasonal variations in asthma. Nearly 9% of children were diagnosed with asthma or wheezing, 60.9% of whom were boys. Those aged 10 to 15 years were diagnosed most often with asthma (40.1%), followed by children aged 6 to 9 years (31.1%) and aged 2 to 5 years (28.8%).
Overall, 30,967 children visited a PCP for asthma exacerbation, 61% of whom were boys. Those aged 2 to 5 years most commonly had asthma exacerbations (49.1%), followed by children aged 10 to 15 years (26.8%) and aged 6 to 9 years (24.1%).
During the study period, asthma-related clinic visits peaked beginning in the 37th to 38th week of the calendar year and lasted until week 40, according to the study findings.
Among children aged 10 to 15 years, the highest number of asthma-related clinic visits took place during the last 4 weeks of the year. The children aged 6 to 9 years saw peaks of asthma exacerbations in the weeks after school vacations in September, late October and May.
PCP visits were 1.26 times more likely during weeks 37 to 39 compared with weeks 34 to 36. However, among the asthmatic population, there was a 1.55 times increase in asthma-related visits in September compared with all PCP visits.
Among the general population, asthma-related cases increased by 1.78 in September compared with August; cases also increased among the ultra-orthodox population (1.99) and the Arab population (2.00). There was a 67% increase in asthma-related visits compared with all visits among the ultra-orthodox population, a 62% increase among the Arab population and a 35% increase among the general population.
“Our study shows that returning to school after the summer vacation is strongly associated with an increased risk for a child experiencing an asthma exacerbation requiring medical attention,” the researchers wrote. “We propose that prophylactic treatment of asthma starting at the end of August should be considered in certain asthmatic children.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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