Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the more frequent reasons diabetic patients are admitted to hospital, and there are reports that the long-term prognosis after an AMI is much worse in these patients than in non-diabetic patients. This study aims to compare hospital admissions and costs in Spanish diabetic and non-diabetic subjects due to AMI during the period 2001-2006.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 6 years of national hospitalization data associated with diabetes using the Minimum Basic Data Set. National hospitalization rates were calculated for AMI among diabetic and non-diabetic adults. Fatality rates, mean hospital stay and direct medical costs related to hospitalization were analyzed. Costs were calculated using Diagnosis-Related Groups for AMI in diabetics and non-diabetics patients.
Results: During the study period, a total of 307,099 patients with AMI were admitted to Spanish hospitals. Diabetic patients made up 29.6% of the total. The estimated incidence due to AMI in diabetics increased from 54.7 cases per 100,000 in 2001 to 64.1 in 2006. Diabetic patients had significantly higher mortality than nondiabetic patients after adjusting for age, gender, and year (OR 1.11 [95% CI, 1.08-1.14]). The cost among diabetic patients increased by 21.3% from 2001 to 2006.
Conclusions: Diabetic patients have higher rates of hospital admission and fatality rates during the hospitalization after an AMI than nondiabetic patients. Diabetic adults who have suffered an AMI have a greater than expected increase in direct hospital costs over the period 2001-2006.