Diabetes-related hospitalizations on the rise, study finds

NEW YORK More young adults, particularly young women, are being hospitalized for diabetes-related issues, according to a new study.

The study — published online in the Oct. 12 edition of Journal of Women's Health, led by Joyce Lee of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and colleagues — evaluated hospital discharges with a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 1993 and 2006.

Lee and colleagues found that hospital discharges associated with diabetes rose 65.3% over the 14-year period, as women were about 1.3 times more likely to be in the hospital for diabetes-related issues than men; while diabetes-related hospitalizations rose 102% among adults ages 30 years to 39 years. The changes, the investigators noted, "signal a shift in the hospital burden of diabetes."