At. Abul et al., Hospital admissions and death rates from asthma in Kuwait during pre- and post-Gulf War periods, ANN ALLER A, 86(4), 2001, pp. 465-468
Background: The aim of the present study is to compare hospital admissions
and death rates from asthma between pre (1987 to 1989)- and post (1992 to 1
994)-Gulf War periods.
Methods: Data on annual hospital admissions by nationality and age, per Int
ernational Statistical Classification of Diseases 493, were collected from
the Health Statistics Department, Ministry of Health, Kuwait, and were anal
yzed with population data from the Annual Statistical Reports, Ministry of
Planning, Kuwait.
Results: A total of 12,113 patients with asthma were admitted to various ho
spitals in Kuwait during the pre-Gulf War period compared with 9,771 patien
ts during the post-Gulf War period. The average annual admissions rates per
100,000, people were 205 and 217, respectively, for the pre- and postwar p
eriods. Total number of admissions showed an increase among Kuwaiti nationa
ls during the study period. There were 95 deaths during the prewar period c
ompared with 72 deaths during the postwar period. The mean annual death rat
es per 100,000 people were 1.60 and 1.59 respectively, for the pre- and pos
t-Gulf War periods.
Conclusions: This study did not show any statistically significant differen
ces in either hospital admissions for or death rates attributable to asthma
in the pre- and post-Gulf War periods in Kuwait. However, the number of ho
spital admissions in young adult Kuwaiti nationals increased. This study su
ggests hospital admissions and deaths from asthma did not increase after th
e invasion of Kuwait.