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Abstract
Background and Objectives People with epilepsy, one-third of whom in the United States are on Medicaid, experience a wide range of chronic and physical comorbidities that influence their care and outcomes. In this study, we examine the burden and racial/ethnic disparities of chronic and acute conditions, injuries, and symptoms in a large and diverse group of people with epilepsy on Medicaid.
Methods Using 5 years of Medicaid claims data, we identified adults with epilepsy and used all available claims and diagnoses to identify each person's Clinical Classification Codes groups diagnosed during the study period. Using association rule mining, we identified the top combinations of conditions and stratified these by race/ethnicity to identify potential prevalence disparities. We examined the top combinations of conditions in high utilizers; that is, individuals in the top quartile of hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
Results Among 81,963 patients, the most common conditions were anxiety and mood disorders (46.5%), hypertension (36.9%), back problems (35.2%), developmental disorders (31.6%), and headache (29.5%). When examining combinations of conditions, anxiety and mood disorders continued to have an outsized prevalence, appearing in nearly every combination. There were notable disparities in disease burden, with American Indians and Alaskan Natives having a substantially higher prevalence of developmental disorders, while Black individuals had a higher prevalence of hypertension. These disparities persisted to the higher-order combinations that included these conditions. High utilizers had a much higher disease burden, with 75.8% having an anxiety or mood disorder, as well as a higher burden of injuries.
Discussion This study shows a high prevalence of psychiatric and physical conditions and identifies racial and ethnic disparities affecting people with epilepsy. Targeting interventions to consider the comorbidities, race, and ethnicity has potential to improve clinical care and reduce disparities.
Glossary
- AHRQ=
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality;
- ARM=
- Association Rule Mining;
- ASM=
- antiseizure medication;
- CCS=
- Clinical Classification Software;
- ICD-9-CM=
- International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification;
- IQR=
- interquartile range;
- NHE=
- negative health event
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org/N for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
- Received June 2, 2021.
- Accepted in final form September 29, 2021.
- © 2021 American Academy of Neurology
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- Author Response: Burden of Chronic and Acute Conditions and Symptoms in People With Epilepsy
- Reader Response: Burden of Chronic and Acute Conditions and Symptoms in People With Epilepsy
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