Healthcare utilization trends in adults with asthma or COPD during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to pre-pandemic: A population-based study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To assess how changes in outpatient services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic were related to acute healthcare use (emergency department or hospitalizations) for individuals with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods

We conducted an observational study using health administrative data in Ontario (Canada) from January 2016 to March 2021 on all adults with diagnosed asthma or COPD. We used monthly time series auto-regressive integrated moving-average (ARIMA) and pre-pandemic monthly rates (January 2016 to February 2020) to calculate projected rates (i.e., a pandemic had not occurred) during the pandemic (March 2020 to March 2021), and Quasi-Poisson models with two-way interaction to estimate crude and adjusted rate ratios.

SUBMITTER: Kendzerska T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11884700 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature