Comorbid Depression in Youth May Lengthen Hospital Stay, Increase Costs

Children and adolescents with depression who are hospitalized for illnesses such as appendicitis, asthma, diabetes-related complications, or pneumonia stay longer, incur more costs, and have a higher risk of death, according to astudy in theJournal of Affective Disorders.Mayowa Olusunmade, M.D., M.P.H., of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and colleagues analyzed 2012 data from the Kids ’ Inpatient Database, a national database of inpatient admissions in the United States for patients under 21 years. They compared the records of 17,071 children and adolescents with depression who were admitted for common conditions with an equal number of children and adolescents who were also ad mitted for these conditions but did not have depression.The researchers found that those with depression stayed in the hospital nearly a day longer than those without depression. The total hospital costs for those with depression were on average nearly $3,000 higher than those without depression, and those with depression had a 77% greater odds of dying. In a second analysis involving only children younger than 13 years, the researchers found that total hospitalization costs more than doubled for children with depression compared with those without depression, and children with depression stayed in the hospital almost twice as long as their peers without depression.“Possible explanations for increased lengths of stay and hospitalization costs in depressed children include passive coping strategie...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: adolescents children cost of care death depression hospital Kids ’ Inpatient Database length of stay Mayowa Olusunmade prevention Source Type: research