OBJECTIVES: Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the most common form of diabetes (>90% of all cases), is typically associated with adult obesity. Recently, increasing attention been given to the growing prevalence of disease among pediatric populations. This study assessed trends in pediatric T2DM hospitalization and aspects of related care in the US.
METHODS: Data for pediatric (≤20 years) hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of T2DM (ICD-9- CM codes 250.x0 and 250.x2) from the 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 HCUP Kids’ Inpatient Databases were analyzed. Weighted estimates of the number of T2DM related hospitalizations and associated resource-based outcomes (i.e., total charges, length of stay [LOS]) were derived.
RESULTS: Between 2000 and 2009, rates of pediatric T2DM-related hospitalizations (per 100,000 2010 US pediatric population) increased from 2.0/100,000 in 2000 to 2.7/100,000 in 2003 and 3.5/100,000 in 2006, before falling modestly to 2.7/100,000 in 2009. Mean LOS for these hospitalizations remained fairly consistent over time (3.2 days in 2000, 3.3 days in 2003, 3.1 days in 2006, and 2.9 days in 2009). Mean charges (2012 USD) for T2DM-related stays have increased nearly 34%, from $13,775 (2000) to $18,432 (2009). Finally, total pediatric T2DM-related inpatient charges increased by more than 147% percent between 2000 and 2006, from $21.5M (2012 USD) to $53.3M, before falling slightly in 2009 to $42.4M.
CONCLUSIONS: We observed increases in rates of pediatric T2DM-related hospitalization over time, with substantial growth in the economic burden associated with these stays (i.e., nearly a 150% increase in total charges between 2000 and 2006). The increasing hospitalization rates are consistent with growing prevalence of obesity among pediatrics in the US. These findings should further emphasize the need for interventions targeted at mitigating and managing factors associated with the risk of T2DM (e.g., obesity) among children.
