Characteristics of the study population, 2005 to 2016
| Year | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Practices, n | 556 | 577 | 603 | 643 | 654 | 648 | 649 | 662 | 644 | 609 | 545 | 451 |
| Children, n | 590 724 | 622 505 | 651 308 | 694 342 | 720 955 | 724 153 | 730 833 | 753 756 | 746 245 | 705 936 | 643 183 | 530 462 |
| Person–years, n | 524 613 | 560 254 | 586 007 | 614 620 | 646 898 | 649 855 | 661 183 | 674 169 | 662 071 | 617 813 | 544 197 | 458 480 |
| Mean age, years | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Males, n (%) | 307 925 (52.1) | 323 551 (52.0) | 337 702 (51.9) | 358 948 (51.7) | 371 608 (51.5) | 372 224 (51.4) | 374 953 (51.3) | 386 071 (51.2) | 381 930 (51.2) | 361 168 (51.2) | 328 770 (51.1) | 271 135 (51.1) |
| Townsend quintile, %a | ||||||||||||
| Least deprived 1 | 24.4 | 24.8 | 24.8 | 24.2 | 24.1 | 24.0 | 23.4 | 22.6 | 21.9 | 21.3 | 20.5 | 18.6 |
| 2 | 19.2 | 19.2 | 19.2 | 19.5 | 19.6 | 19.5 | 19.4 | 18.9 | 18.5 | 18.4 | 18.3 | 17.4 |
| 3 | 19.2 | 19.0 | 19.1 | 19.4 | 19.6 | 19.6 | 19.7 | 19.6 | 19.5 | 19.7 | 19.4 | 19.0 |
| 4 | 17.2 | 17.1 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 17.2 | 17.2 | 17.3 | 17.6 | 17.8 | 17.7 | 17.8 | 17.4 |
| Most deprived 5 | 12.6 | 12.3 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 13.0 | 13.1 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 13.9 |
| Not known | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 13.8 |
| Children with evidence-based indications,b n (incidence per 1000 person–years) | 2359 (4.5) | 2483 (4.4) | 2587 (4.4) | 2689 (4.4) | 2699 (4.2) | 2722 (4.2) | 2768 (4.2) | 2864 (4.2) | 2948 (4.5) | 2692 (4.4) | 2155 (4.0) | 1494 (3.3) |
| Tonsillectomies, n (incidence per 1000 person–years) | 1555 (3.0) | 1551 (2.8) | 1648 (2.8) | 1620 (2.6) | 1599 (2.5) | 1564 (2.4) | 1468 (2.2) | 1581 (2.3) | 1698 (2.6) | 1598 (2.6) | 1275 (2.3) | 1124 (2.5) |
↵a Townsend score is an area-based measure of deprivation.
↵b A child who consults with an evidence-based indication can be eligible for tonsillectomy in more than one calendar year if the indication crossed the calendar year. The total number of children consulting with evidence-based indications over 12 years is therefore smaller than the sum of the number for each year.