Factors associated with healthcare utilization and mortality in alcohol use disorder hospitalization

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ObjectiveTo examine the outcomes of alcohol use disorder (AUD)-hospitalizations. MethodsWe used the U.S. National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data from 1998 to 2016 to examine predictors of Healthcare utilization (total hospital charges, discharge destination, length of hospital stay) and in-hospital mortality for AUD-hospitalization outcomes. We used logistic regression to assess the association of patient demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income), comorbidity (Deyo-Charlson index), insurance payer (Medicare, Medicaid, private, self-pay or other), and hospital characteristics (location/teaching status; hospital bed size; and region) with outcomes ResultsThere were 5,590,952 primary AUD-hospitalizations from 1998 to 2016; of these 106,419 (1.9 %) died in-hospital. The mean age was 48 years, 73 % were male, 59 % white, and 57 % had a Deyo-Charlson comorbidity score of zero. In multivariable-adjusted analyses of AUD-hospitalizations, older age, female sex, higher Deyo-Charlson index, rural location or hospitals with medium or large bed sizes were associated with significantly higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare utilization. Similarly, South or Western U.S. hospital location, White race, or high income quartile were associated with higher healthcare utilization. Compared to a private insurance payer, Medicare or Medicaid insurance payers were associated with higher healthcare utilization, but lower in-hospital mortality. ConclusionsWe identified several independent associations of modifiable and non-modifiable factors with healthcare utilization and mortality outcomes for AUD-hospitalizations. These findings provide an opportunity for prognosis, resource allocation and the development of interventions to improve outcomes of AUD-hospitalizations in the future.