Transfer of adults between intensive care units in the United Kingdom: postal survey: Table 1

Objective: To determine trends in asthma mortality by age group in England and Wales during 1983-95.Design: Observational study.Setting: England and Wales.Subjects: All deaths classified as having an underlying cause of asthma registered from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 1995.Main outcome measure: Time trends for age specific asthma deaths.Results: Deaths in the age group 5-14 years showed an irregular downward trend during 1983-95; deaths in the age groups 15-44, 45-64, and 65-74 years peaked before 1989 and then showed a downward trend; and deaths in the age group 75-84 years peaked between 1988 and 1993 and subsequently dropped.Trends were: age group 5-14 years, 6% (95% confidence interval 3% to 9%); 15-44 years, 6% (5% to 7%); 45-64 years, 5% (4% to 6%); 65-74 years, 2% (1% to 3%).Deaths in the 75-84 and 85 and over categories plateaued.Conclusions: There are downward trends in asthma mortality in Britain, which may be due to increased use of prophylactic treatment.