Hospitalization in Pediatric Diabetes: A Nationwide Analysis of all Admission Causes for Germany in 2015.

INTRODUCTION: Regarding pediatric diabetes, hospital admission for acute complications of type 1 diabetes (T1D) has often been investigated, but little is known about other causes of hospitalization. This study aimed to explore the total burden of hospitalization in individuals with diabetes<20 years of age in Germany.
METHODS: Using the German Diagnosis-Related Groups data for 2015, we examined the frequencies of hospitalization with diabetes (20 251 inpatient cases), stratified by diabetes type [T1D, type 2 diabetes (T2D), other specified diabetes types (T3D), and unclear diabetes], and without diabetes (1 269 631 inpatient cases). Using estimates of the population at risk with T1D, T2D, and without diabetes, we evaluated hospitalization rates (per patient-year) by Poisson regression. For T1D, T2D, and T3D, we investigated the most frequent diagnoses and the median length of stay. Most analyses were stratified by sex, age-group and east/west residence.
RESULTS: Children and adolescents with diabetes had a 6 to 9 times higher hospitalization risk than peers without diabetes (hospitalization rate 0.09). The hospitalization rate was higher for T2D compared with T1D (0.84 vs. 0.53, P<0.001). In T2D, two-third of inpatient cases were not directly related to diabetes, and stay was shorter compared with T1D and T3D (3 vs. 4 and 5 days, respectively). In T1D, hospitalization was more frequent among girls than boys (0.58 vs. 0.49, P<0.001), and mostly due to "diabetes without complications" (65.7%). Hospitalization tended to be more frequent and longer in the youngest patients, and in those with east residence.
CONCLUSION: Hospitalization rate in pediatric diabetes in Germany remained high, especially for T2D patients, girls with T1D, and young children. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.