Reasons for hospitalisation in Australians with type 2 diabetes compared to the general population, 2010-2017

We sought to quantify the burden and diversity of reasons for hospital admission amongst Australians with type 2 diabetes compared to the general population.

We linked Australians aged 15 and above with type 2 diabetes on the National Diabetes Services Scheme (n = 456,265) to hospital admission data to determine hospitalisation risks at ICD-10 three-digit diagnosis level for 2010-2017. We performed Poisson regression to determine the hospitalisation burden of each diagnosis among those with diabetes compared to the general population and reported excess annual hospitalisations per 100,000 people with diabetes.

Australians with diabetes were at increased risk of hospitalisation for most conditions. In addition to traditional complications including heart failure, other conditions such as mental health disorders and anaemias were major causes for excess hospitalisation, compared to the general population. The leading cause of excess hospitalisation in women with diabetes was iron deficiency anaemia, responsible for 558 excess annual hospitalisations per 100,000 women with diabetes. In men, the leading cause was cellulitis, responsible for 364 excess annual hospitalisations per 100,000.

The diseases responsible for excess hospitalisations in type 2 diabetes are more diverse than previously recognised. This may need to be reflected in changes to diabetes management.