Patients with Diabetes Account for 25% of Emergency Room Visits

by Bianca Garilli, ND

In 2015, the prevalence of diabetes in the United States was 30.3 million Americans or 9.4% of the population.¹  In the same year, over 12 million emergency department (ED) visits or 25% of total ED visits were made by patients with diabetes aged 45 and older.  This number is 6 times higher than ED visits made by patients with diabetes aged 45 and older.² 

Overall the number of ED visits by patients with diabetes, as diagnosed in their medical charts, has risen between the years 2010 and 2015; this is in alignment with the rising number of all persons aged 45 and older with diabetes throughout the nation.²

Key facts important to consider alongside this data include:

• Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2015¹
• Prevalence of diabetes in seniors aged 65 and older is approximately 25.5%¹
• The rate of diabetes in ED visits for patients aged 45 and over increases with age with the highest rate found in those aged 75 and older²
• A higher percentage of patients with diabetes’ 45 years and older coming in for ED visits ended up with hospital admission (28%) than non-diabetes ED visits (17%)²
• The 2012 estimated total economic cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 was $245 billion which is a 41% increase from the 2007 estimate of $174 billion³
• People with diabetes have health care costs 2.3 times greater than those without diabetes⁴
• A higher percentage of ED visits for patients aged 45–64 with diabetes had Medicare in 2015 as their primary expected source of payment (24%) compared to non-diabetes ED visits (14%)²

Why is this Clinically Relevant?

• It is important to target blood sugar dysregulation in all age groups to reduce the risk of diabetes, this is especially important in those over 45 years of age
• Healthcare providers in the ED should screen all incoming patients for undiagnosed or uncontrolled diabetes
• Identifying and reducing risk of diabetes could lower long term healthcare costs for the individual, insurance providers and Medicare
• Healthcare providers treating populations over 65 years of age should be aware that approximately 25% of their patients will have diabetes

Link to article

1. American Diabetes Association. Statistics about Diabetes. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/?referrer=https://www.google.com/ (Accessed 2.22.18) 
2. Hall M, et al. Emergency Department Visits by Patients Aged 45 and Over With Diabetes: United States, 2015. NCHS Data Brief.  No. 301, February 2018.  https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db301.pdf (Accessed 2.22.18)
3. American Diabetes Association. Economic Costs of Diabetes in 2012. Diabetes Care 2013 Apr; 36(4): 1033-1046. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc12-2625
4. American Diabetes Association.  The Staggering Cost of Diabetes. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/infographics/adv-staggering-cost-of-diabetes.html (Accessed 2.22.18)