Trends and Demographic Disparities in Diabetes Hospital Admissions: Analyses of Serial Cross-Sectional National and State Data, 2008–2017

OBJECTIVE To analyze national and state-specific trends in diabetes-related hospital admissions and determine whether disparities in rates of admission exist between demographic groups and geographically dispersed states. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted serial cross-sectional analyses of the National Inpatient Sample (2008, 2011, 2014, and 2016) and State Inpatient Databases for Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Utah, and Vermont for 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2016/2017 among adult patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes–related ICD codes (ICD-9 [250.XX] or ICD-10 [E10.XXX, E11.XXX, and E13.XXX]. We measured hospitalization rates for people with diabetes (all-cause hospitalizations) and for admissions with a primary diagnosis of diabetes or diabetes-related complications (diabetes-specific hospitalizations) per 10,000 people per year. RESULTS Nationally, all-cause and diabetes-specific hospitalizations declined by 3.1% (95% CI −5.5, −0.7) and 19.1% (95% CI −21.6, −16.6), respectively, over 2008 to 2016. The analysis of individual states showed that diabetes-specific admissions in individuals ≥65 years old declined during this time (16.3–48.8% decrease) but increased among patients 18–29 years old (10.5–81.5% increase) and that rural diabetes-specific admissions decreased in just over half of the included states (15.2–69.2% decrease). There were no differences in changes in admission rates among different racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS Overall, rates of diabetes-related hospitalizations decreased over 2008 to 2016/2017, but there were large state-level differences across subgroups of patients. The rise in diabetes hospitalizations among young adults is a cause for concern. These state- and subpopulation-level differences highlight the need for state-level policies and interventions to address disparities in diabetes health care use.