Influence of climatic factors on hospitalisations and emergency room presentations for asthma and other (non-asthma) respiratory conditions in children

Aim This study investigates seasonal variation in paediatric hospitalisations and emergency room presentations for asthma and other (non-asthma) respiratory conditions. It also examines the association between these two conditions and climatic factors such as temperature and humidity. Methods Monthly hospital admissions (July 1992 to June 2003) and ER presentations (July 1998 to June 2003) for asthma and other (non-asthma) respiratory conditions in children younger than five years of age were aggregated in Canberra, Australia. We fitted log-linear models to describe these incidences in terms of calendar time, the current and previous month’s average temperature, and dew point average (a measure of humidity). A model with negative binomial errors was used to accommodate over-dispersion in the counts. The admissions and ER presentations of the previous month were also included in the models. Results: Asthma comprised 2.7% of all child (Conclusion This study suggests that strategies to combat exacerbations of asthma and other (non-asthma) respiratory conditions should take into consideration climatic factors and seasonal effects on a population. The strength of the association of temperature and humidity with asthma and non-asthma respiratory conditions and a plausible biological pathway suggest that lower temperatures and higher humidity lead to higher asthma and respiratory hospital admissions and ER presentations. The association between other (non-asthma) respiratory conditions and high humidity may be related to asthma not being conclusively diagnosed in very young children when they present to the ER. Finally, understanding the influence of climatic factors on these conditions could assist hospital management with demand modeling and planning for services, especially staffing estimates and hospital beds