Hospitalization for Various Age Groups/Comorbidities--Hospitalization in the United States, 1997

What Are the Most Common Reasons for Hospitalization for Various Age Groups?

Depression is one of the top 10 conditions for children and adolescents 1 to 17 years of age and adults 18-44.
For the group 18 to 44 years of age, 9 of the top 10 reasons for hospitalization pertain to pregnancy and delivery. When these conditions are excluded, 4 of the top 10 conditions relate to mental illness or substance abuse.
For all age groups 45 and older, hardening of the arteries, heart attack, and congestive heart failure are among the top 10 reasons for hospitalization.
Some conditions, such as pneumonia, appear in the top 10 for several age groups.
Some conditions are unique to particular age groups. Hip fracture and septicemia (blood infection) are among the top 10 conditions only for patients ages 80 or older.

Table 4. Most Common Reasons for Hospitalization by Age Group

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Top 10 diagnoses¹ by age group	Years
	<1	1-17	18-44	45-64	65-79	80+
	Number of discharges (in thousands)
Infants born in the hospital	3,844
Acute bronchitis	110
Other perinatal conditions	57
Hemolytic jaundice and perinatal jaundice	34
Other viral infections	29
Prematurity (short gestation) and low birthweight	23
Urinary tract infection	21					127
Other upper respiratory infections	20	42
Fluid and electrolyte disorders	24	65				135
Pneumonia	57	138	133	203	374	353
Appendicitis		67
Epilepsy		47
Intestinal infection		38
Noninfectious gastroenteritis		38
Asthma		161	112
Depression (affective disorder)		57	307
Intervertebral disc disorders and other back problems		38	190
Schizophrenia and related disorders			171
Substance-related mental disorders			147
Alcohol-related mental disorders			142
Benign neoplasm of the uterus			130
Gall bladder (bilary tract) disease			146	136
Nonspecific chest pain			111	246
Degenerative joint disease of spine (spondylosis)				194
Diabetes mellitus with complications				133
Chronic obstructive lung disease (emphysema or chronic bronchitis)				151	269
Complication of device, implant or graft				145	182
Hardening of the arteries of the heart (coronary atherosclerosis)				535	636	189
Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction)				247	300	156
Congestive heart failure				180	426	374
Osteoarthritis					250
Rehabilitation care					183
Stroke (acute cerebrovascular disease)					269	214
Irregular heartbeat (cardiac dysrhythmia)					258	152
Hip fracture						205
Blood infection (septicemia)						136

¹Excludes pregnancy-related conditions.

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Do Patients in the Hospital Have Medical Problems in Addition to the Main Reason for Admission?

Comorbidities (2) are coexisting medical problems that are listed as secondary diagnoses (not principal diagnoses, or the main reason for admission). Comorbidities can make a hospital stay more expensive and complicated. Conditions are designated as comorbidities if they are not directly related to the principal diagnosis and are likely to have originated prior to the hospital stay.
About 54 percent of hospitalized patients have at least one comorbidity.
Patients can have more than one comorbidity; about 1/3 of patients have two or more.

Select Figure 7 (15 KB), Comorbidities Among Hospitalized Patients.

Comorbidities

What Are the Most Common Comorbdities?

About 1 in 5 patients has hypertension in addition to the principal diagnosis.
The second most common comorbidity—fluid and electrolyte disorders—is associated with many conditions and may be a marker for the severity of the principal diagnosis.

Table 5. Top 10 Comorbidities

 
Top 10 comorbidities             Total number of cases                  Percent of all
                                 with each comorbidity                      discharges
                                        (in thousands)
________________________________________________________________________________________

1.  Hypertension                                 7,231                            20.4
2.  Fluid and electrolyte disorders              4,798                            13.6
3.  Chronic obstructive lung disease             3,843                            10.9
    (emphysema or chronic bronchitis)
4.  Diabetes mellitus                            3,375                             9.5
5.  Irregular heartbeat (cardiac dysrhythmia)    2,398                             6.8
6.  Anemias                                      2,164                             6.1
7.  Solid tumor without metastasis               2,021                             5.7
8.  Congestive heart failure                     1,880                             5.3
9.  Hypothyroidism                               1,375                             3.9
10. Hardening of the arteries                    1,045                             3.0
    (peripheral vascular disease)

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