Rehospitalisation for asthma within 12 months: unequal rates on the basis of gender at two hospitals.

Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>High asthma morbidity has been reported in certain demographic groups in geographical areas of low socioeconomic status (SES).<h4>Aim and methods</h4>We tested for an ecological association between the gender of people being frequently hospitalised for asthma and the SES of the area in which they lived, using a cross-sectional study.<h4>Results</h4>Women represented 75% of the readmission population at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH--low SES hospital) and 55% at Modbury Hospital (moderate-high SES hospital). Women at TQEH were significantly more likely to have one readmission within 12 months and over 30 times more likely to have two or more readmissions than women at Modbury Hospital.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The ecological association observed in this study needs to be confirmed elsewhere in Australia.