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Malnutrition among Hospitalized Children in the United States: Changing Prevalence, Clinical Correlates, and Practice Patterns between 2002 and 2011
- Source :
- Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 118(1)
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Background Pediatric malnutrition has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes, longer lengths of stay, and higher health care costs. Objective To characterize prevalence, temporal trends, and short-term clinical outcomes of coded diagnoses of pediatric malnutrition (CDM) across sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics from 2002 to 2011. Design This study is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and the Kids' Inpatient Database. Participants/setting The study sample included pediatric inpatient hospitalizations in the United States. Main outcome measures International Classification of Diseases-9th Revision-Clinical Modification diagnosis codes were used to identify CDM and coded malnutrition subtypes based on an etiology-related definition of pediatric malnutrition. Statistical analyses The national frequency and prevalence of CDM overall and across patient- and hospital-level characteristics were estimated for children aged 1 month to 17 years. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between CDM and each characteristic. Analyses evaluated conditions associated with the highest burden and risk of CDM, and compared clinical outcomes across malnutrition subtypes. Joinpoint regression was used to describe temporal trends in CDM. Results Of the 2.1 million pediatric patients hospitalized annually, more than 54,600 had CDM, a national prevalence of 2.6%. Considerable variation was observed based on primary diagnosis, with fluid and electrolyte disorders contributing the most malnutrition cases. Highest CDM rates were among patients with stomach cancer, cystic fibrosis, and human immunodeficiency virus. Patients with CDM experienced worse clinical outcomes, longer lengths of stay, and increased costs of inpatient care. The overall prevalence of CDM increased from 1.9% in 2002 to 3.7% in 2011, an 8% annual increase, and temporal increases were observed in nearly all population subgroups. Conclusions Despite improvements, pediatric malnutrition remains underdiagnosed in inpatient settings when relying exclusively on International Classification of Diseases-based codes, which underscores the need for a national benchmarking program to estimate the true prevalence, clinical significance, and cost of pediatric malnutrition.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
Adolescent
Cystic Fibrosis
Population
HIV Infections
Logistic regression
Child Nutrition Disorders
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Risk Factors
Stomach Neoplasms
Health care
medicine
Ethnicity
Humans
Clinical significance
030212 general & internal medicine
Medical diagnosis
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
education
Child
Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures
Retrospective Studies
education.field_of_study
030109 nutrition & dietetics
Nutrition and Dietetics
Inpatient care
business.industry
Infant
General Medicine
Length of Stay
medicine.disease
United States
Hospitalization
Malnutrition
Cross-Sectional Studies
Treatment Outcome
Child, Preschool
Costs and Cost Analysis
Female
Diagnosis code
business
Child, Hospitalized
Food Science
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 22122672
- Volume :
- 118
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....abd017431c01d27aba6fbc69d70cf7ea