April 2025
Hospital presentations for allergy-related illnesses more common in First Nations people
By Melanie Hinze
First Nations people are about twice as likely to visit an emergency department for asthma or allergic diseases than Australians of other descents, an Australian expert has told Medicine Today.
Dr Desalegn Markos Shifti, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Childhood Allergy and Epidemiology Research Group, Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, was commenting on his and colleagues’ research that examined more than 800,000 emergency department (ED) presentations from 12 public hospitals in Central Queensland, between 2018 and 2023.
The retrospective analysis, published in BMJ Open, included data from the ED Information System of Public Hospitals in Central Queensland, a region encompassing regional, rural and remote outback areas.
The analysis found that there were 13,273 asthma and allergic disease related ED presentations, with an overall prevalence of 1.6%.
Among First Nations Australians, there was a significantly higher incidence rate of asthma and allergic disease-related ED presentations compared with Australians of other descents, with 177.5 per 10,000 person-years among First Nations Australians versus 98.9 per 10,000 person-years among other Australians.
The incidence rates of the four most common cases among First Nations Australians and Australians of other descents, respectively, were as follows: asthma (87.8 and 40.2), unspecified allergy (55.3 and 36.0), atopic/allergic contact dermatitis (17.1 and 10.6) and anaphylaxis (7.2 and 6.2). ‘We found that First Nations people were about twice as likely to visit an ED for asthma or allergic diseases compared with other Australians and that ED visits for allergic diseases among First Nations people increased over time,’ Dr Shifti said.
Although the exact reasons for these disparities in asthma and allergic diseaserelated ED visits remain unknown, Dr Shifti suggested one possibility might be that asthma and allergic diseases were more severe in First Nations people, leading to more hospital visits, even if they were not more common. Another reason could be limited access to allergy specialists, especially in rural and remote areas. Long waitlists to see specialists and their limited availability in some areas could also lead to delays in care. However, more indepth studies were needed to better understand this.
‘Our study captured the burden of severe and potentially life-threatening cases that necessitate immediate medical attention, highlighting the acute impact of asthma and allergic diseases in this population.’
Dr Shifti said that tackling barriers such as limited access to healthcare may help reduce ED visits. ‘GPs can also play a key role by enhancing early diagnosis, preventative care and patient education,’ he said.
‘Exploring the use of telehealth for allergy specialist consultations and consistently applying culturally responsive approaches to care could further improve patient engagement and outcomes,’ he suggested.