title: Hospitalizations and hospital charges for co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.
abstract: Most published studies have examined co-occurring disorders among mental health patients. Our objective was to compare the length of stay and hospital charges between hospitalized patients with alcohol- or substance-related disorders with and without co-occurring disorders. We analyzed nationally representative hospital discharge data (Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 2003-2007) and examined factors associated with length of stay and hospital charges. Forty-four percent of patients who were hospitalized with alcohol- or substance-related disorders were diagnosed with co-occurring mental disorders, representing 979,421 such disorders nationwide between 2003 and 2007. Females, those of White race, those who paid with insurance, and those who stayed in large, rural, nonteaching, and Midwest region hospitals had a high prevalence of co-occurring disorders. Co-occurring disorders were associated with longer hospital stays, but there were mixed results with hospital charges per discharge. An increase in co-occurring disorders among hospitalized patients with substance-related disorder may be due to the improvement in diagnosis and clinical attention.
authors.affiliation: The Health Education and Promotion Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA. kding@kent.edu
authors.forename: Kele
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Jingzhen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Trisha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schiltz
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Summers
authors.forename: Anne Helene
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Skinstad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D017722:Hospital Charges; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*