Hospitalization profile among pediatric populations with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Australia: An ecological study

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is linked to a considerable rise in mortality and morbidity. Studying hospital admission trends is crucial for healthcare improvement and reducing hospital admissions. Therefore, this research aimed to examine the hospitalization profile for T1DM pediatric patients in Australia over the past 2 decades. This is a retrospective ecological longitudinal study conducted in Australia between 1998 and 2019. T1DM pediatric patients aged below 19 formed the study population. The National Hospital Disease Database was used to extract hospitalization data. Mid-year population data was extracted using the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The Pearson chi-square test for independence was applied to evaluate the difference in hospitalization rates. In Australia, there were 89,798 episodes of hospital admission for T1DM reported between 1998 and 2019. Hospitalization rate increased by 29.6% (from 55.01 [95% confidence interval (CI) 53.00-57.02] in 1998 to 71.31 [95% CI 69.22-73.41] in 2019 per 100,000 persons, P < .05). Overnight-stay episodes comprised 79.9% of all admissions. Rates of same-day hospitalization rose 1.72-fold (from 5.86 [95% CI 5.20-6.52] in 1998 to 15.93 [95% CI 14.94-16.92] in 2019 per 100,000 persons). Rates of overnight-stay hospitalization rose by 12.7% (from 49.15 [95% CI 47.25-51.05] in 1998 to 55.38 [95% CI 53.54-57.23] in 2019 per 100,000 persons). The most frequent cause of hospitalizations was T1DM with acidosis, which accounted for 43.1% of cases. Females accounted for 47,880 hospitalization episodes, representing 53.3% of the total. The age group 15 to 19 years accounted for 38.9% of hospitalization episodes. Considering these results, it is imperative to create focused strategies for adolescents with T1DM, particularly those between the ages of 15 and 19, including interventions and education that address the difficulties brought on by puberty-related factors and encourage improved adherence to diabetes care. These strategies will help lessen the cost of hospitalization and enhance the general health of these vulnerable people.