Chronic conditions increasing among childbearing women
(HealthDay)—Between 2005 and 2014, the prevalence of chronic conditions increased across all segments of the childbearing population, according to a study published online Nov. 7 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Lindsay K. Admon, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues used 2005-2014 data from the National Inpatient Sample to estimate the prevalence of eight common, chronic conditions among women hospitalized for obstetric delivery in the United States. They identified 8,193,707 delivery hospitalizations, which represented 39,273,417 delivery hospitalizations that occurred between 2005 and 2014.
The researchers found that identification of at least one chronic condition increased significantly, from 66.9 per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations in 2005-2006 to 91.8 per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations in 2013-2014. There was also an increase in the prevalence of multiple chronic conditions, from 4.7 to 8.1 per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations, over the same time period. The chronic diseases with the greatest increases in prevalence over time were chronic respiratory disease, chronic hypertension, substance use disorders, and pre-existing diabetes. Increasing disparities, including rural versus urban residence, income, and payer, were seen across all socioeconomic subgroups analyzed.
"Key areas of concern include the rate at which substance use disorders rose among rural women and the disproportionate burden of each condition among women from the lowest-income communities and among women with Medicaid as their primary payer," write the authors.
One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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