{
  "abstract": "Background Asthma represents a major public health concern in childhood and adolescence. However, population-based estimates of trends in its epidemiology in Spain are limited.Methods We conducted a population-based cohort study using primary care electronic health records in Catalonia, Spain, from 2010 to 2024. Asthma diagnoses, ascertained through Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) codes, were leveraged to estimate annual incidence rates (IR) and prevalence among children aged 1–17 years. Results were stratified by sex, age and Socioeconomic Deprivation Index (SDI). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated to investigate differences in overall incidence of asthma in these sociodemographic groups. Joinpoint modelling was used to investigate time trends in incidence.Results We included 2 001 625 individuals (48.40% females, median age 7 years). Crude IR of asthma (2010–2024) was 687.46 (95% CI 683.09 to 691.85) per 100 000 person-years. Incidence was highest in males (IRR=1.35, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.37, vs females) until adolescence, after which the pattern reversed, youngest individuals (IRR=3.03 95% CI 2.96 to 3.11, for 1–4 versus 15–17) and in individuals living in the most deprived areas (IRR=1.14, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.16, vs least deprived SDI quintile). Incidence declined before the COVID-19 pandemic, dropped sharply during it, and then increased among children aged 5–14 years post-pandemic, while consistently decreased in children aged 1–4 years. Asthma prevalence showed an upward trend until 2019 followed by stabilisation until 2024, when its prevalence was 7.36% (7.3%–7.41%).Conclusion Asthma remains a major public health burden in children and adolescents, with incidence and prevalence varying by age, sex and socioeconomic status, making continuous monitoring essential to guide prevention.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Anna Palomar-Cros"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "RTI Health Solutions Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Alicia Abellan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Berta Raventós"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain",
        "Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Andrea Pistillo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Sardenya Primary Health Care Center, EAP Sardenya-Research Institute Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Carlen Reyes"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Agustina Guiliodori"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Laura Granés"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Respiratory Department, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital. IDIVAL, Santander, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Juan Luís García Rivero"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Katia MC Verhamme"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Elena Roel"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l’Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain",
        "Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Talita Duarte-Salles"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Trends in asthma incidence and prevalence in 2 million children and adolescents in Catalonia, Spain, 2010–2024: a population-based cohort study",
  "uid": "97f88267-879d-559d-ba5a-69d61250715b"
}