Hospitalization of the elderly in the United States for nonspecific gastrointestinal diseases: a search for etiological clues

Abstract

The frequency of hospitalization among the elderly in the United States caused by gastrointestinal diseases between 1991 and 2004 increased dramatically, especially hospitalization of elderly individuals with nonspecific diagnoses. We analyzed 6 640 304 gastrointestinal disease-associated hospitalization records in this 14-year period by comparing the peak times of nonspecific gastrointestinal diseases with those of specific diseases. We found that most nonspecific gastrointestinal diseases peak concurrently with viral enteritis, suggesting a lack of diagnostic testing for viruses, which may adversely affect the efficiency of prevention, surveillance, and treatment efforts.

FIGURE 1

Mosaic plot (left) and time series plots (right) showing the percentages and seasonal patterns of hospitalizations of the elderly involving 11 major categories of gastrointestinal diseases: United States, 1991–2004. Note. ICD = International Classification of Diseases. The 11 categories assessed contributed to 6 806 591 diagnoses in 6 640 304 hospitalization records, indicating a small degree of comorbidity (1.03 gastrointestinal diagnoses per record). Because percentages were derived from the total number of records, their sums exceed 100%. Horizontal axes of the time series plot represent day series, vertical axes represent cases per million elderly (aged 65 years and older).