PREVALENCE OF PHYSICIAN-DIAGNOSED ASTHMA IN SASKATCHEWAN, 1981 TO 1990

Study objective: To examine trends in asthma prevalence in the Provinc e of Saskatchewan using the Medical Claim Insurance Branch (MCIB) data base, Design: For each calendar year from 1981 to 1990, first visits t o physicians for asthma were identified from the MCIB database, Age- a nd sex-specific prevalence rates were obtained for each calendar pear by dividing the number of first asthma visits by the number of subject s in the age- and sex-specific group insured by the Provincial Governm ent of Saskatchewan in that calendar year, Results: asthma prevalence increased in children and adults from 1981 to 1990, In Gibe calendar y ear 1990, the prevalence of asthma was 5.1% in children less than or e qual to 4 years old, 4.4% in children 5 to 14 years old, 2.2% in young adults 15 to 34 years old, and 1.9% in adults 35 to 64 fears old. Boy s had higher asthma prevalence than girls in the age groups 0 to 4 yea rs and 5 to 14 years, but it was reversed in older age groups, with wo men having greater asthma prevalence than men, Asthma diagnoses were v erified by checking for asthma-related drug purchase ire the Prescript ion Drug Plan database, Among the 0- to 4-year-old children with physi cian-diagnosed asthma, 57.3% purchased at least one asthma-related dru g in 1981 and 72.3% purchased that in 1990. Among adults, asthma-relat ed drug purchase was >73% in 1990, Conclusions: Asthma prevalence incr eased in children and adults in the province of Saskatchewan, Reasons for the increase are not clear and further studies are required to det ermine factors related to the increase.