Table 1 Characteristics of children in the cohort (n = 36,940)
No. of children (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Demographic | Gender | Boys | 22,480 (60.9) |
Girls | 14,460 (39.1) | ||
Age at inclusion (mean: 9.2 years) | 6–8 years | 18,025 (48.8) | |
9–11 years | 14,174 (38.4) | ||
12–13 years | 4,741 (12.8) | ||
Socioeconomic status | Family characteristic in the year of inclusion | Two-parent family | 30,120 (81.6) |
Single-parent family | 6,662 (18.0) | ||
No information | 158 (0.4) | ||
Parent's education level | 1. Primary and high school | 21,998 (59.6) | |
2. Short or intermediate higher education | 10,194 (27.6) | ||
3. Long higher education | 4,590 (12.4) | ||
No information | 158 (0.4) | ||
One parent's income in the year of inclusion (DKK) | 1. < 150,000 | 5,659 (15.3) | |
2. 150,000–250,000 | 13,733 (37.2) | ||
3. 250,000–350,000 | 12,000 (32,5) | ||
4. > 350,000 | 5,389 (14.7) | ||
No information | 159 (0.3) | ||
Geograhpy | Distribution of children in the counties | Mean (min – max) | 2,639 (196 – 6,675) |
Overall share of asthmatic children (min-max) | 4.1% (3.8 – 7.4) | ||
GPs or specialists as healthcare providers in the study period | Contact only with GPs with examination of lung function | 13,316 (36.1) | |
Contact only with GPs without examination of lung function | 12,650 (34.2) | ||
Contact only with primary care specialists | 1,286 (3.5) | ||
Contact only with specialists at outpatient clinics | 2,594 (7.0) | ||
Contact with both GPs and specialists | 7,094 (19.2) | ||
Medical treatment in 12 months | Inhaled steroids | 29,912 (81.0) | |
Inhaled short-acting beta2 agonists | 29,741 (80.5) | ||
Long-acting beta2 agonists | 5,225 (14.2) | ||
Inhaled steroids and long-acting beta2 agonists in a fixed combination | 2,781 (7.5) | ||
Leukotrien receptor antagonists | 1,437 (3.9) | ||
Inhaled steroids only | 3,547 (9.6) | ||
Inhaled beta2 agonists only | 4,857 (13.2) | ||
Inhaled steroids and beta2 agonists (incl. fixed combinations of steroid and long-acting beta2agonists) | 25,755 (69.7) | ||
Severity of disease | No. of packages of anti-asthmatic drugs: | ||
Mild: ≤ 4 | 18,046 (48.8) | ||
Moderate: 5–8 | 13,290 (36.0) | ||
Severe: > 8 | 5,604 (15.2) | ||