Asthma Hospitalizations Among US Military Personnel, 1994 to 2004
Abstract
Acute asthma attacks strike unpredictably and may lead to hospitalization in otherwise healthy individuals. The burden of asthma hospitalization on the U.S. health care system has greatly interested health care workers, many of whom see the incidence of asthma as increasing. This study sought to examine the annual incidence of hospitalization and the frequency of subsequent hospitalization for asthma among all active-duty U.S. military personnel between 1994 and 2004, and to determine demographic and occupational risk factors of asthma hospitalization within this generally healthy U.S. population. Annual demographic and occupational data were combined with electronic hospitalization records for patients with a discharge diagnosis of asthma. Using Cox proportional hazard modeling, the authors investigated demographic and occupational risk factors for asthma hospitalization. The results showed that women, married personnel, health care worker personnel, enlisted personnel, U.S. Army personnel, and older personnel were found to have a significantly greater risk of asthma hospitalization. Yearly rates of hospitalization declined from 22.3 per 100,000 persons to 12.6 per 100,000 persons between 1994 and 2004. Although these data have some limitations, they suggest that the burden of asthma hospitalizations in the large, healthy population of U.S. military personnel has declined during the last decade. The decrease in hospitalization potentially reflects improved outpatient management strategies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA519968
Entities
People
- Christian J. Hansen
- James S. Neville
- Kevin L. Russell
- Margaret A.K. Ryan
- Margot R. Krauss
- Tyler Clain Smith
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center