An Analysis of Epidemiological Factors in Heart Failure Outcomes

Abstract

BackgroundVarious socioeconomic and demographic factors play a role in determining treatment outcomes across numerous conditions. Different studies have shown that certain demographic factors, such as income status, directly correlate with treatment outcomes. In this study, we analyze the effect of some of these variables, namely, insurance and age, on various endpoints, including length of stay and discharge status, among heart failure patients. MethodologyThe data used in this project were retrieved from the HealthCare Utilization Project. We sorted the data by insurance, age, length of stay, and discharge status. To compare discharge status between different insurance types and age groups, we used Stata to compute odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. To compare the length of stay among different age groups and insurance types, we conducted an unpaired twotailed Student's t-test. ResultsAcross all age groups, we found that younger patients with heart failure are more likely to discharge against medical advice compared to older patients. The average length of stay for heart failure patients was the same across all age groups except those 85 and older. Moreover, patients with a lower socioeconomic status, as determined by insurance type, were more likely to discharge against medical advice and less likely to die within hospitals. ConclusionsOur results speak to the socioeconomic inequalities seen in medicine today. Studies have shown that those with a lower socioeconomic status tend to have worse outcomes across various conditions. Our analysis shows this phenomenon holds true for heart failure as well. In addition, our study helps to determine which groups are at higher risk of making medical decisions, such as discharging against medical advice, that will negatively affect their condition. Identifying these high-risk groups is a key first step to counteracting such behavior.

Risk Assessment for Heart Failure in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treated with Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitor Using a Large Claims Dataset

“…Japanese patients with heart failure accounted for approximately 5% of patients with heart failure globally, 21) and the number of deaths caused by heart failure represented 6.1% of all deaths reported in Japan in 2020. 22) Notably, compared with patients without DM, the onset of heart failure is two and five times higher in males and females with DM, respectively.…”

“…Preventing the onset of heart failure in patients with DM is essential because 23 million patients develop heart failure every year worldwide, which costs 39.2 billion dollars. 21) Therefore, we studied real-world data on heart failure onset in workingage DM patients, whose information on lethal health risks is lacking.…”