Trends in hospital admissions for COPD,
England 1994-2005

Trends in admissions and other outcomes for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease were presented in the 2003/1 factsheet Trends in COPD . This covered admissions between 1991 and 2000. Admissions are now available up to 2005.

There were nearly 112,000 emergency admissions for COPD in 2005 in England, and COPD now accounts for 0.9% of all admissions. Admission rates have risen in all age groups since 1994 except in the under 45s, in which rates are low (<1 per 10,000) and stable. The highest rises have occurred in the over 85s in which rates per 10,000 have almost doubled from 57 in 1994 to 112 in 2005.

The rate of increase continues to be slightly higher in women than in men so that the sex-specific rates are tending to converge.