Frequency and causes of hospitalization in older compared to younger adults with type 2 diabetes in the United States: a retrospective, claims-based analysis.

Aims: This study assessed the frequency and most common causes of hospitalization in older compared to younger adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the US.

Methods: A retrospective study utilizing data from a nationally representative insurance claim database included patients who were diagnosed or treated for diabetes during or prior to the defined study period and who experienced hospitalization with or without re-hospitalization.

Results: Among 887,182 patients with T2DM, 31% were ≥ 65 years old and nearly 1 in 4 (23.5%) were hospitalized during the observation period. Only 2.3% of first hospitalizations were determined to be diabetes-related, and these events were most commonly associated with a history of pre-study hospitalization and increasing age. Hypoglycemia was a common cause for T2DM-related hospitalizations (22.9%), and older patients demonstrated a higher proportion of hypoglycemia-related hospitalizations (age ≥ 65 years: 38.3% vs. age < 65 years: 11.4%). Survival analysis predicting readmission within 6 months after first hospitalization showed that primary factors associated with first readmissions were history of prior hospitalization, malignancy, insulin use, and presence of pre-existing liver or renal disease.

Conclusions: Hospitalization is common in patients with diagnosed diabetes, and nearly 1 in 4 diabetes-related hospital admissions were due to hypoglycemia. While the overall rate of hypoglycemia-associated admission was low, the age-specific rate was nearly 2.5-fold higher in older adults (≥ 65 years), affirming the need to carefully assess the potential benefit/risk of diabetes medications in those ≥ 65 years of age.