Burney P G, Papacosta A O, Withey C H, Colley J R, Holland W W
Department of Public Health Medicine, United Medical School, Guy's Hospital, London.
Thorax. 1991 Aug;46(8):574-9. doi: 10.1136/thx.46.8.574.
Representative samples of 20-44 year old men living in 20 local authority districts in England were surveyed in 1986 by postal questionnaire and asked about symptoms associated with asthma and treatment for asthma. Regional health authorities provided information on all hospital discharges of men of the same age living in the same districts. Specific information was also provided on discharges where the primary cause of admission was for asthma. Admission rates for asthma were related to the prevalence of night time breathlessness and independently to the all cause admission rate for men of the same age. Admission rates were not significantly related to prescription rates of either corticosteroids or beta 2 agonists for symptomatic men. This lack of association is hard to interpret without further information on variation in the severity of disease. These data show that admission rates for asthma are not dictated solely by health service characteristics, such as availability of beds or the "style" of the physician, but also reflect need. More research is required on how best to reduce the local prevalence and severity of asthma.
1986年，通过邮政问卷调查对居住在英格兰20个地方当局辖区内的20至44岁男性代表性样本进行了调查，询问他们与哮喘相关的症状及哮喘治疗情况。地区卫生当局提供了居住在相同辖区内相同年龄男性的所有医院出院信息。还提供了以哮喘为主要入院原因的出院具体信息。哮喘入院率与夜间呼吸急促患病率相关，且与同年龄男性的全因入院率独立相关。哮喘入院率与有症状男性使用皮质类固醇或β2激动剂的处方率无显著关联。在没有关于疾病严重程度变化的进一步信息的情况下，这种缺乏关联的情况很难解释。这些数据表明，哮喘入院率并非仅由卫生服务特征（如床位可用性或医生“风格”）决定，还反映了需求。关于如何最好地降低当地哮喘患病率和严重程度，还需要更多研究。
