Health service use among children with and without eczema, asthma, and hay fever

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of annual health service use, prescribed medication, and total costs in various subgroups of children

Subgroups	N	Total health service use	Prescribed medication	Total costs
	Unweighted	Mean consultations (SEM)	Mean packages (SEM)	Mean € (SEM)
Total	9,720	5.79 (0.06)	1.81 (0.05)	587 (33)
Sex
Female	4,890	5.78 (0.09)	1.67 (0.05)	602 (55)
Male	4,830	5.64 (0.09)	1.95 (0.09)	572 (35)
Age (years)
3	3,433	7.35 (0.11)	1.95 (0.05)	567 (43)
6	2,503	5.09 (0.10)	1.54 (0.10)	513 (39)
11	2,070	4.22 (0.11)	1.49 (0.09)	416 (25)
15	1,714	5.45 (0.16)	2.32 (0.18)	946 (150)
Primary carer’s education
Master	2,591	5.50 (0.11)	1.71 (0.08)	506 (61)
Bachelor	3,173	5.75 (0.10)	1.68 (0.06)	560 (53)
Vocational	1,777	6.02 (0.14)	2.14 (0.18)	737 (110)
School	1,959	6.09 (0.14)	1.90 (0.10)	620 (50)
Eczema
Known disease ever	1,583	6.91 (0.16)	2.51 (0.11)	704 (94)
Current symptoms	927	7.56 (0.21)	2.90 (0.15)	908 (167)
Asthma
Known disease ever	697	7.80 (0.28)	4.36 (0.44)	877 (86)
Current symptoms	1,123	8.50 (0.21)	3.65 (0.26)	1,053 (148)
Hay fever
Known disease ever	858	6.40 (0.23)	2.98 (0.22)	732 (85)
Current symptomsa	1,059	5.88 (0.19)	2.94 (0.31)	652 (64)
Known atopic disease ever
None	6,883	5.41 (0.06)	1.44 (0.04)	537 (39)
One	1,904	6.54 (0.14)	2.40 (0.16)	702 (86)
Two or more	466	7.49 (0.33)	3.86 (0.28)	803 (84)
Current symptoms of atopic disease
None	6,918	5.28 (0.06)	1.41 (0.04)	515 (37)
One	2,063	6.99 (0.14)	2.57 (0.12)	661 (52)
Two or moreb	474	8.11 (0.33)	4.37 (0.57)	1,348 (315)

Notes:

a Not measured for children aged 3 years.

b For children aged 3 years, symptoms of up to two diseases could be reported.

Abbreviation: SEM, standard error of the mean.

Table 2 Annual health service use and costs among children with eczema, asthma, and hay fever compared with children without

Atopic disease	Total health service use (consultations)	Use of prescribed medication (packages)	Total costs (€)
	Mean difference (95% CI)	Mean difference (95% CI)	Mean difference (95% CI)
Eczema
Known disease ever	1.28 (0.93–1.64)	0.86 (0.63–1.09)	174 (–22 to 370)
Current symptoms	1.77 (1.29–2.26)	1.33 (0.97–1.70)	459 (48–871)
Asthma
Known disease ever	2.75 (2.13–3.36)	2.29 (1.74–2.84)	309 (85–533)
Current symptoms	2.53 (2.08–2.98)	1.69 (1.36–2.01)	586 (240–932)
Hay fever
Known disease ever	1.11 (0.60–1.62)	1.08 (0.64–1.51)	110 (–126 to 346)
Current symptomsa	1.21 (0.74–1.67)	1.13 (0.65–1.62)	77 (–142 to 297)
Known atopic disease ever
One vs none	1.24 (0.90–1.58)	0.77 (0.54–1.00)	127 (–46 to 300)
Two or more vs none	2.54 (1.82–3.25)	2.14 (1.63–2.65)	278 (3–552)
Current atopic symptoms of atopic disease
One vs none	1.60 (1.28–1.93)	1.03 (0.76–1.30)	188 (46–329)
Two or more vs noneb	3.20 (2.48–3.92)	2.40 (1.83–2.96)	897 (237–1,555)

Notes: All analyses were adjusted for sex, age, and primary carer’s educational level. Reference categories: known disease ever vs children without the atopic condition ever; current symptoms vs no current symptoms of the atopic condition.

a Not measured for children aged 3 years.

b For children aged 3 years, symptoms of up to two diseases could be reported.

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.

Table 3 Subtypes of annual health service use among children with eczema, asthma, and hay fever compared with children without

Atopic disease	General practitioner	Atopic disease-relevant specialist	Outpatient hospital	After-hours duty doctor	Emergency department	Hospital admission	Hospital admission due to infection
	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)	OR (95% CI)
Eczema
Known disease ever	1.73 (1.43–2.10)	1.60 (1.41–1.81)	1.25 (1.05–1.48)	1.17 (1.03–1.33)	1.04 (0.89–1.22)	1.14 (0.88–1.49)	1.38 (0.93–2.04)
Current symptoms	2.26 (1.7–3.00)	1.88 (1.61–2.19)	1.17 (0.95–1.44)	1.30 (1.11–1.53)	1.21 (1.00–1.47)	1.46 (1.09–1.97)	1.02 (0.66–1.58)
Asthma
Known disease ever	2.35 (1.77–3.13)	1.37 (1.14–1.65)	1.72 (1.38–2.14)	1.93 (1.59–2.33)	1.18 (0.95–1.48)	2.03 (1.44–2.86)	2.07 (1.23–3.48)
Current symptoms	2.00 (1.54–2.60)	1.32 (1.14–1.52)	1.80 (1.51–2.15)	1.71 (1.47–1.99)	1.26 (1.06–1.50)	2.21 (1.73–2.82)	2.41 (1.72–3.37)
Hay fever
Known disease ever	1.44 (1.14–1.82)	1.22 (1.03–1.46)	1.26 (1.01–1.57)	1.34 (1.12–1.60)	1.13 (0.91–1.40)	1.65 (1.16–2.33)	1.76 (1.01–3.05)
Current symptomsa	1.64 (1.35–2.01)	1.27 (1.08–1.50)	1.24 (1.00–1.53)	1.37 (1.15–1.64)	1.16 (0.94–1.42)	1.61 (1.11–2.35)	1.72 (0.89–3.30)
Known atopic disease ever
One vs none	1.60 (1.34–1.91)	1.39 (1.23–1.57)	1.15 (0.98–1.36)	1.28 (1.13–1.45)	1.10 (0.94–1.28)	1.28 (1.00–1.65)	1.74 (1.22–2.48)
Two or more vs none	2.68 (1.91–3.76)	1.78 (1.43–2.22)	1.71 (1.29–2.25)	1.65 (1.32–2.07)	1.14 (0.87–1.50)	1.92 (1.23–3.01)	1.62 (0.68–3.83)
Current symptoms of atopic disease
One vs none	1.73 (1.46–2.04)	1.43 (1.27–1.61)	1.30 (1.12–1.52)	1.38 (1.22–1.55)	1.24 (1.07–1.43)	1.79 (1.42–2.26)	1.91 (1.36–2.68)
Two or more vs noneb	2.97 (1.99–4.42)	1.81 (1.46–2.24)	1.89 (1.45–2.47)	2.03 (1.62–2.55)	1.26 (0.96–1.66)	2.51 (1.69–3.72)	1.99 (1.07–3.69)

Notes: All analyses were adjusted for sex, age, and primary carer’s educational level. Reference categories: known disease ever vs children without the atopic condition ever; current symptoms vs no current symptoms of the atopic condition.

a Not measured for children aged 3 years.

b For children aged 3 years, symptoms of up to two diseases could be reported.

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table S1 Annual medication costs and patient share of medication costs among children with eczema, asthma, or hay fever compared with children without

Atopic disease	Medication costs (€)	Patient share of medication costs (€)
	Mean difference (95% CI)	Mean difference (95% CI)
Eczema
Known disease ever	19.90 (8.88–30.91)	6.93 (4.65–9.20)
Current symptoms	33.27 (13.16–53.37)	10.80 (6.33–15.27)
Asthma
Known disease ever	92.21 (55.27–129.16)	20.35 (15.47–25.24)
Current symptoms	55.46 (35.41–75.50)	17.90 (12.99–22.82)
Hay fever
Known disease ever	26.56 (2.05–51.06)	8.27 (4.72–11.82)
Current symptomsa	46.43 (15.69–77.18)	9.15 (4.93–13.38)
Known atopic disease ever
One vs none	21.91 (6.94–36.88)	5.71 (3.52–7.89)
Two or more vs none	63.23 (39.02–87.44)	20.54 (14.79–26.29)
Current symptoms of atopic disease
One vs none	25.99 (9.96–42.01)	6.61 (4.73–8.50)
Two or more vs noneb	95.83 (55.31–136.35)	28.57 (18.64–38.49)

Notes: All analyses were adjusted for sex, age, and primary carer’s educational level. Reference categories: known disease ever vs children without the atopic condition ever; current symptoms vs no current symptoms of the atopic condition.

a Not measured for children aged 3 years.

b For children aged 3 years, symptoms of up to two diseases could be reported.

Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.

Table S2 Annual use of different types of health services among various subgroups of children

Atopic disease	General practitioner	General practitioner	Atopic disease-relevant specialist	Outpatient hospital	After-hours duty doctor	Emergency department	Hospital admission	Hospital admission due to infection
	Mean (SD)	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Total	3.45 (3.36)	83.8	28.8	13.8	36.7	16.8	5.2	2.2
Sex
Female	3.51 (3.50)	83.1	26.3	12.5	36.7	15.6	4.7	2.2
Male	3.22 (3.33)	81.0	27.1	15.4	36.6	20.6	5.9	2.1
Age (years)
3	4.39 (3.60)	92.3	29.7	13.4	54.9	19.1	7.3	3.6
6	2.95 (2.93)	81.2	27.6	13.1	38.2	14.1	4.9	2.2
11	2.32 (2.79)	70.4	24.7	13.7	22.7	19.1	3.7	0.9
15	3.34 (3.79)	79.1	23.1	16.3	21.0	20.6	4.5	0.9
Eczema
Known disease ever	4.06 (3.53)	89.3	37.4	15.5	40.7	17.7	5.9	2.8
Current symptoms	4.47 (3.76)	92.6	41.5	15.3	43.7	19.3	7.1	2.8
Asthma
Known disease ever	4.52 (4.16)	89.8	35.0	21.5	40.2	19.1	8.0	3.3
Current symptoms	4.95 (3.96)	92.3	36.6	20.7	49.1	20.2	10.4	5.3
Hay fever
Known disease ever	3.70 (3.66)	85.1	32.8	17.5	32.9	18.4	6.5	2.2
Current symptomsa	3.48 (3.62)	82.5	31.6	16.4	27.0	17.3	4.8	1.6
Known atopic disease ever
None	3.24 (3.19)	82.3	26.7	12.7	36.2	16.3	4.8	1.9
One	3.87 (3.66)	87.3	33.6	15.4	38.5	17.7	5.9	3.2
Two or more	4.32 (3.70)	89.9	39.1	20.0	37.1	19.1	6.9	1.7
Current symptoms of atopic disease
None	3.16 (3.14)	82.2	26.6	12.6	35.5	15.9	4.3	1.7
One	4.14 (3.73)	88.0	34.1	15.9	40.3	19.0	7.2	3.5
Two or moreb	4.69 (4.04)	91.8	41.6	21.3	40.3	18.4	8.4	3.0

Notes:

a Not measured for children aged 3 years.

b For children aged 3 years, symptoms of up to two diseases could be reported.

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table S3 Use of skin medication, respiratory medication, and anti-infective medication in 2009 among various subgroups of children

Subgroup	Skin medication %	Respiratory medication %	Anti-infective medication %
Total	14.0	12.7	37.6
Sex
Female	13.6	10.9	37.6
Male	14.4	14.5	37.5
Age (years)
3	17.8	15.1	53.5
6	13.2	10.3	35.1
11	10.4	11.2	22.6
15	11.9	13.2	27.4
Eczema
Known disease ever	27.9	20.3	40.1
Current symptoms	38.5	20.5	43.0
Asthma
Known disease ever	17.6	46.2	39.3
Current symptoms	18.3	42.0	47.6
Hay fever
Known disease ever	17.8	33.3	33.3
Current symptomsa	15.5	24.6	30.2
Known atopic disease ever
None	11.2	8.0	37.1
One	21.3	19.1	39.9
Two or more	25.3	45.7	35.2
Current symptoms of atopic disease
None	11.2	7.5	36.6
One	20.3	23.7	40.7
Two or moreb	29.5	41.1	39.9

Notes:

a Not measured for children aged 3 years.

b For children aged 3 years, symptoms of up to two diseases could be reported.