The Rising Prevalence of Asthma: True Increase, Diagnostic Exchange or Diagnostic Accuracy?

Overview

Journal Healthc Policy

Specialty Public Health

Date 2013 Aug 24

PMID 23968635

Citations 5

Authors

Randall R Fransoo

Patricia J Martens

Heather J Prior

Alan Katz

Elaine Burland

Nathan C Nickel

Dan Chateau

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In the midst of frequent reports about "the asthma epidemic," results from a number of studies by the manitoba centre for health policy have shown stable or decreasing prevalence of an overall indicator of respiratory diseases which includes asthma. To resolve these apparently contrary findings, we conducted a time trend analysis using administrative data. results revealed significant potential for diagnostic exchange: asthma prevalence increased, but that of bronchitis decreased.

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