The rate of diabetes-related emergency department visits was 464.5 per 100,000 U.S. population among Americans under age 30 in 2012, with young adults heading to the ED far more often than children, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Young adults aged 18-29 years made diabetes-related ED visits at a rate of 905 per 100,000 in 2012, compared with 149 per 100,000 for children 17 and under. Narrowing down the age groups shows even greater differences: The rate was 47 per 100,000 for children aged 5 years and under, 95 for children aged 6-9, 193 for 10- to 13-year-olds, 316.5 for those aged 14-17, 607 for 18- to 21-year-olds, 889 for 22- to 25-year-olds, and 1,236 for those aged 26-29 years, the AHRQ reported.
Patients aged 5 years and under were, however, the most likely to be admitted to the hospital in 2012: 29% of their diabetes-related ED visits resulted in admission, compared with 26% for those aged 26-29. Those aged 22-25 years were the least likely to be admitted, with 18% staying after their ED visit, and the overall admission rate for those aged 0-29 years was 23.5%, the report noted.
The ED visit rate for diabetes was higher for females than for males aged 0-29 years – 569 per 100,000 vs. 355 – but males were more likely to be admitted – 27% vs. 21% for females, according to data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample.