Study Uncovers Health Disparities in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

A recent study analyzed the association between race/ethnicity and insurance status with outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). The results were published in Gastro Help Advances.

“The impact of sociodemographic factors on outcomes in patients with [UC] is not well studied,” the researchers noted.

Their study comprised 34,814 patients from the National Inpatient Sample from 2016 to 2018. Investigators assessed age, sex, income quartile, hospital diagnosis, hospital characteristics, and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, as well as the primary predictors.

The study showed that patients with Medicare (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.54 [0.48-0.62]), Medicaid (aOR, 0.51 [0.45-0.58]), or no insurance (aOR, 0.42 [0.35-0.50]) had lower odds of colectomy than privately insured patients. Moreover, Black patients had higher mortality than White patients (aOR, 1.38 [1.07-1.78]), and patients with Medicare or Medicaid had 5% ([1.01-1.09]) and 9% longer length of stay (LOS; [1.05-1.13]), respectively, than privately insured patients, while uninsured patients had a 6% shorter LOS ([0.90-0.97]). Also, Hispanic or Asian/Native American patients had 11% ([1.06-1.15]) and 13% ([1.07-1.20]) higher costs, respectively, than White patients. Uninsured patients had 11% lower costs than those who were privately insured ([0.85-0.94]).

“Hospitalized patients with UC differed significantly in rates of colectomy, mortality, LOS, and costs based on race/ethnicity and insurance status. Further research is needed to understand the cause of these differences and develop targeted solutions to reduce these inequities,” the researchers concluded.