Adult asthma hospitalisations decreased markedly in Finland and Sweden between 2006 and 2022.

Abstract

A decreasing trend in asthma hospitalisations among Finnish and Swedish children has been reported. However, possible changes in asthma hospitalisations among adults are incompletely characterised. We aimed to investigate the incidence of adult asthma hospitalisations in Finland and Sweden from 2006 to 2022 using Finland's National Hospital Discharge Register and Sweden's National Patient Register. During the study period, the incidence of asthma hospitalisations decreased by 65.8% in Finland (from 84.9 to 29.0 per 100 000 person-years) and by 52.5% in Sweden (from 31.4 to 14.9 per 100 000 person-years). The incidences of asthma hospitalisations were distinctly higher in Finland compared with Sweden at the start of the study period but approached parity among both sexes.