Asthma admission rates and patterns of salbutamol and inhaled corticosteroid prescribing in England from 2013 to 2017

Asthma exacerbations are a common reason for hospital admission. We sought to identify whether patterns of inhaler prescribing are significantly associated with regional asthma admission rates. Asthma admission rates were obtained for English Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) regions from 2013/2014 to 2016/2017. Raw prescribing data were obtained from OpenPrescribing.net, based on monthly general practice-level data published by the National Health Service Business Services Authority. Data were analysed using a linear mixed effects model. The ratio of salbutamol to inhaled corticosteroid prescriptions within a CCG was positively associated with asthma admission rates, independently of median age, asthma prevalence and socioeconomic deprivation.