Clostridium difficile contributes mightily to the overall burden of gastrointestinal disease in the United States and was associated with a 237% increase in hospitalizations in the last decade.
Researchers who examined the latest data on the nationwide toll of GI and liver disease also found a 314% rise in hospitalizations related to morbid obesity and a continuing national health burden exacted by reflux symptoms, Barrett’s esophagus, and colorectal cancer.
Video from the American Gastroenterological Association (http://www.youtube.com/amergastroassn)
"We compiled the most recently available statistics on GI symptoms, quality of life, outpatient diagnoses, hospitalizations, costs, mortality, and endoscopic utilization from a variety of publicly and privately held databases," Dr. Anne F. Peery of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her colleagues reported in the November issue of Gastroenterology (doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2012.08.002).
"Payers, policy makers, clinicians, and others interested in resource utilization may use these statistics to better understand evolving disease trends, and the best way to meet the challenge of these diseases."
The findings are based on data for 2009, the most recent year for which complete information was available, from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the United States National Health and Wellness Survey, sponsored by the private company Kantar Health; the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database of the National Cancer Institute; the National Vital Statistics System, sponsored by the National Center for Health Statistics and the CDC; and the Thomson Reuters MarketScan’s databases of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid records.
Among the findings:
• C. difficile hospitalizations have increased 237% since 2000 and were associated with 4% in-hospital mortality. Now the ninth leading GI cause of mortality, with an absolute increase of 230% in the number of C. difficile–related deaths since 2002, the infection also markedly impairs quality of life and the capacity for work and other activities.
• Hospitalizations related to obesity remained relatively stable since 2000, but those associated with morbid obesity rose by 314%, and many were likely caused by the marked increase in bariatric surgery.
• Gastroesophageal reflux remains the most common GI-associated diagnosis in primary care, accounting for 9 million outpatient visits in 2009, and the most common GI-associated discharge diagnosis, with 4.4 million such diagnoses in 2009. Obesity was associated with 1.7 million discharge diagnoses and constipation with 1 million.
• Barrett’s esophagus accounted for almost half a million outpatient visits in 2009, when an estimated 3.3 million Americans had this diagnosis. Given that endoscopic surveillance is recommended every 3-5 years, Barrett’s contributes substantially to resource utilization.
• Colorectal cancer, with an estimated 147,000 patients diagnosed in 2008, accounts for more than half of all GI cancer diagnoses and continues to be the primary cause of GI-associated mortality. Pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancers are the next most frequently diagnosed GI cancers.
Courtesy CDC/Dr. Gilda Jones
Clostridium difficile infections [pictured] are now the ninth-leading GI cause of mortality.
• Of the approximately 2.5 million deaths in the United States in 2009, 10% were attributed to an underlying GI cause. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis are the 12th leading causes of death in the country.
• The total outpatient cost for GI endoscopy in 2009 was estimated to be $32.4 billion, which is higher than previously published estimates. An estimated 6.9 million upper endoscopies, 11.5 million lower endoscopies, and 228,000 biliary endoscopies were performed in the United States in 2009.
• Chronic liver disease and viral hepatitis were associated with 6% mortality and cost an estimated $1.8 billion per year in inpatient cost.
• Hospitalizations for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease increased 97% since 2000.
This study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health. No financial conflicts of interest were reported.