Objective: To understand the seasonal distribution of patient hospitalization due to asthma exacerbation in 7 geographic areas in China. Methods: This was a retrospective study which involved patients hospitalized for asthma exacerbation in 29 hospitals throughout 7 geographic areas in the mainland of China (northeast, north, central, east, south, northwest and southwest). The numbers of asthmatic patients and total inpatients of the respiratory department of each hospital were recorded. The monthly ratio of asthmatic patients to the total inpatients in every area was calculated and compared. Results: During the study period, 6 480 patients were admitted for asthma exacerbation, accounting for 3.14% of all the 206 135 patients admitted to the respiratory departments in the 29 hospitals. The ratio of asthmatic patients to total inpatients in the northeast area (5.61%) was highest, and the ratio in east area was lowest (1.97%). Statistical analysis showed that the difference among different areas was significant (P<0.000 1). In most areas, both the number and proportion of hospitalized asthmatic patients peaked in spring (February-April) and autumn (September-October). In the northeast area, east area and south area, the peaks in spring were more obvious, while in the north area and southwest area, the peaks in autumn were more obvious. In the northwest area the peaks occurred in winter (December-January) and summer (June-August), respectively. The differences in hospitalization due to asthma among different months were significant in the northeast, north, and southwest areas (P<0.005). Conclusion: The number of patients hospitalized for asthma exacerbation fluctuated with season in different areas in China. In most areas, more asthmatic patients were admitted to hospitals in spring and autumn.
目的： 了解我国7个地理区域内哮喘急性发作住院患者的季节性分布特征。 方法： 对全国7个地理区域（东北、华北、华中、华东、华南、西北、西南）内的29家三甲医院2013－2014年间因哮喘急性发作住院的患者例数及同期该院呼吸内科总住院患者例数进行统计，逐月计算因哮喘急性发作住院患者占总住院患者的比例。对各个地区之间及每个地区不同月份之间哮喘急性发作患者的住院情况进行了统计学分析。 结果： 在研究的时间范围内，29家医院的呼吸科总住院患者为206 135例次，其中因哮喘急性发作住院患者为6 480例次，占同期总住院数的3.14%。不同地区间因哮喘急性发作住院人数占同期总住院人数的比例差异较大，东北地区比例最高（5.61%），华东地区比例最低（1.97%）。不同地区之间哮喘患者住院比例的差异均有统计学意义（P<0.000 1）。多数地区因哮喘急性发作住院患者例数及比例都有两个高峰，分别位于2－4月及9－10月，东北、华东及华南地区的春季高峰更为显著，而华北及西南地区的秋季高峰更为明显，西北地区的高峰则位于冬季（12－1月）及夏季（6－8月）。东北、华北及西南地区各月份之间哮喘急性发作住院情况的差异有统计学意义（P<0.005）。 结论： 不同地区哮喘急性发作住院患者存在一定的季节波动性，多数地区存在春季及秋季两个高峰。.
Keywords: Asthma; Geography; Inpatient; Seasonal distribution.