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Health resource utilization varies by comorbidities in children with epilepsy

Klajdi Puka1, Mary Lou Smith2, Rahim Moineddin3

  • 1Department of Psychology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B
|March 9, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Children with epilepsy and comorbidities like depression, anxiety, and learning disabilities experience higher healthcare use. Identifying and managing these conditions is crucial to reduce costly emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Health Services Research
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Comorbidities in adults with epilepsy are linked to increased health resource utilization (HRU).
  • The association between comorbidities and HRU in pediatric epilepsy populations is not well-established.
  • Understanding this relationship is vital for optimizing healthcare resource allocation in children with epilepsy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between comorbidities and health resource utilization (HRU) in children with epilepsy.
  • To determine if mental health and developmental comorbidities increase healthcare utilization in pediatric epilepsy patients.
  • To identify specific comorbidities that significantly impact neurology visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized health administrative databases from Ontario, Canada.
  • Evaluated the frequency of neurologist visits, ED visits, and hospitalizations.
  • Assessed the impact of comorbidities (depression, anxiety, learning disability, ADHD, ASD) on HRU, adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Main Results:

  • Comorbid depression, autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), and learning disability increased neurology visits.
  • All evaluated comorbidities significantly increased ED visits.
  • Comorbid depression, anxiety, ASD, and learning disability were associated with increased hospitalizations.
  • Learning disability demonstrated the most substantial impact on overall HRU.
  • Each additional comorbidity increased the frequency of neurology visits, ED visits, and hospitalizations significantly.

Conclusions:

  • Mental health and developmental comorbidities are associated with increased HRU in children with epilepsy.
  • Different comorbidities uniquely influence specific types of HRU.
  • Early identification and management of these comorbidities are essential to mitigate the risk of costly healthcare utilization, including ED visits and hospitalizations.
Abstract

Keywords:
Developmental comorbidityHealth service utilizationMental healthPediatricPopulation study

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