[Rising admission of children with asthma].

Admissions and readmissions of children with asthma to the Paediatric Department, Sentralsykehuset i Akershus, increased from 197 in 1986 to 318 in 1988. The hospitalization period for children under two years of age with more than one admission has increased, which may indicate more severe asthma within this age group. Admissions for pneumonia have increased from 35 to 90, while admissions for bronchiolitis and laryngitis have remained stable. The distribution of number of admissions per 1,000 of the population is irregular. The frequency of admissions is no higher for the large communities around Oslo, exposed to motorways, traffic and heavy industry, than for the more rural communities. This may suggest that air pollution is not the major cause of the observed increase in the numbers of admissions to our department.