Black patients with diabetes have higher 30-day readmission rates

(HealthDay)—Black patients with diabetes have a significantly higher risk for 30-day readmission compared with other racial/ethnic groups, according to a study published online Oct. 11 in JAMA Network Open.

Rene Rodriguez-Gutierrez, M.D., from Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Mexico, and colleagues examined racial/ethnic differences in all-cause readmission among U.S. adults with diabetes and sought to identify patient- and system-level factors associated with these differences. An administrative claims dataset of commercially insured and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries was used to identify 272,758 adult patients with diabetes discharged alive from the hospital (467,324 index hospitalizations) from 2009 through 2014.

The researchers found that the rates of 30-day all-cause readmission were 10.2 percent among white individuals, 12.2 percent among black individuals, 10.9 percent among Hispanic individuals, and 9.9 percent among Asian individuals. In an adjusted analysis, only black patients had a higher risk for readmission versus white patients (odds ratio, 1.05). This increased readmission risk among black patients was not entirely explained by other demographic factors, comorbidities, income, reason for index hospitalization, or place of hospitalization. Both black and Hispanic patients had the highest observed-to-expected readmission rate ratio compared with white patients when their income was low (annual household income <$40,000) and when they were hospitalized in nonprofit hospitals, academic hospitals, or large hospitals.

"These findings reinforce the importance of identifying and addressing the many reasons for persistent racial/ethnic differences in health care quality and outcomes," the authors write.

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