title: Disparities in reproductive health-related visits to the emergency department in Maryland by age and race, 1999-2005.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe reproductive health-related visits to Maryland emergency departments (EDs) among women aged 15-44 years from 1999 to 2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  We obtained data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Emergency Department Database and State Inpatient Database. ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes were used to classify reproductive health-related visits. We calculated the annual rate of reproductive health visits to Maryland EDs from 1999 to 2005 for women aged 15-44 years and tested time trends using linear regression. Admission rates were defined as the percentage of ED visits that resulted in inpatient admission. We calculated age-specific and race-specific rate ratios for diagnoses using Poisson regression and admission rate ratios using Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 1999 to 2005, the rate of ED visits in Maryland increased 50%, from 28.0 to 42.1 visits per 1000 women. Lower genital tract infections were the most common diagnosis (21.4%). The rates were higher for women aged 15-24 than for women aged 25-44 (rate ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-1.18) and nearly three times higher for black women than white women (rate ratio 2.94, 95% CI 2.92-2.96). Admission rates were lower for women aged 15-24 than for women aged 25-44 (rate ratio 0.34, 95% CI 0.33-0.35) and were higher among black than white women (rate ratio 1.16, 95% CI 1.14-1.18).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Disparities by age and race are evident for reproductive health-related ED visits in Maryland, and many of these ED visits are for conditions that are amenable to preventive measures.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. cio8@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Shanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Samuel F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Posner
authors.forename: Denise J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: Christopher H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meikle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004630:Emergencies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult