EFFECT OF GENDER ON HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS FOR ASTHMA AND PREVALENCE OF SELF-REPORTED ASTHMA - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY BASED ON A SAMPLE OF THE GENERAL-POPULATION

Background - Women are more often admitted to hospital for asthma than men. A study was undertaken to determine whether this is caused by ge nder differences in the prevalence or severity of the disease. Methods - Admissions to hospital for asthma in 13540 subjects were followed f rom 1977 to 1993. Results - At baseline 315 subjects (2.3%) reported a sthma, 2.2% of women and 2.5% of men. During follow up 160 subjects we re admitted to hospital for asthma. After controlling for self-reporte d asthma and smoking, women had a higher risk of being admitted to hos pital than men (relative risk 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 2.4) . This increased risk was not due to misclassification of chronic obst ructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as asthma. Conclusions - These findin gs indicate gender-related differences in either the severity, percept ion, or management of asthma.