S109 Can Household Income Predict the Rate of Readmission in Patients With Crohns Disease?

Abstract

Background: Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with unknown etiology. The impact of household income, a surrogate of socioeconomic status, on hospital readmission rates for patients with Crohn's disease has not been well characterized. We did this study to determine if this relationship exists so that gastroenterologists and hospitalists can better address healthcare disparities within their patients. Methods: The Nationwide Readmission Database (HCUP) was queried from 2019-2022. Data on hospital readmissions of 1,048,576 adults readmitted within 30 days was collected. After controlling for demographic and clinical confounders, we compared the income quartiles to determine household income's significance on the readmission rate. Results: A total of 1,048,576 patients were readmitted between 2019-2022. Of these, 15,438 (Mean age 56.4 ± 12.4, 57% women) patients were included after the propensity score matching. 7519 (48%) patients were Crohn's positive. After controlling for demographic and clinical confounders, patients in the lowest income quartiles were significantly more likely to be readmitted at 30 days compared to those in the highest quartile (first quartile, odds ratio [OR] 1.14, P < 0.01]; second quartile, OR 1.19, P < 0.01]; and third quartile, OR 1.65, P < 0.01]). The accuracy of quartile income was also significant for AUROC (0.664, P < 0.01). Conclusion(s): Patients with Crohn's disease residing in the lowest income quartiles had a 64% higher odds of hospital readmission at 30 days. Research is needed to determine if targeted interventions for high-risk patients decrease readmissions.