Geographic Variation in the Length of In-Hospital Stay for Alzheimer’s Disease in Nebraska

Document Type

Presentation

Presentation Date

11-1-2015

Abstract or Description

Background and Objective: In 2014, an estimated 5.2 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This number is expected to rise given the aging of the population. The purpose of this study was to explore geographic variations and trends in length of stay AD-related hospitalizations in the state of Nebraska.

Method: We used the Nebraska Hospital Discharge Data for 2005 to 2011. Data was restricted to primary and secondary diagnoses of AD. This data was merged with the 2008 Census Bureau Data for census tract-level socioeconomic and demographic factors. We run a generalized mixed linear regression model to account for clustering at the individual, hospital and geographic level. Statistical significance was assessed at the p<0.05 level. SAS 9.3 was used for the analysis.

Results: Results indicated that AD patients in rural Nebraska stayed shorter in hospitals compared to urban residents. The mean length of stay in 2005 was 5.5 days [CI: 5.3-5.8] and in 5.1 days [CI: 4.8-5.3] 2011. There was no consistent and statistically significant temporal trend in the length of hospital stay for patients with AD observed. Additional factors associated with AD length of hospital stay included gender, age, referral source and having Medicaid insurance.

Conclusion: The length of hospital stay for AD patients admitted in Nebraska’s hospitals did not change between 2005 and 2011. Rural AD patients tend to have shorter length of stay.

Sponsorship/Conference/Institution

American Public Health Association Annual Meeting (APHA)

Location

Chicago, IL

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