Postoperative health-care utilization in Crohn's disease: the impact of specialist care.

OBJECTIVES: Crohn's disease (CD) patients frequently require surgery. We sought to characterize postoperative health-care utilization and its impact on outcomes. METHODS: We assembled a population-based cohort of CD patients who underwent first surgery in Ontario, Canada, between 1996 and 2009. We compared intra-individual preoperative and postoperative health-care utilization and characterized utilization of early postoperative gastrointestinal care (EPGIC) and its impact on health outcomes. RESULTS: For the 2,943 CD patients who underwent surgery, the 5-year risk of recurrent surgery was 26%. In the 5th postoperative year, the average annual number of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related clinic visits, emergency department visits, endoscopy procedures, radiological procedures, and hospitalizations decreased by 62, 62, 82, 78, and 89% compared with prior to surgery. Regional utilization of EPGIC varied between 18 and 62% and correlated with the number of gastroenterologists within a regional local health integration network (ρ=0.71; P=0.006). EPGIC was associated with reduced risk of late postoperative CD-related hospitalizations (at least 1 year after surgery; adjusted incidence ratio (IRR), 0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.72-0.94). Other predictors of late hospitalizations included having an emergency department visit within 6 months (adjusted IRR, 2.60; 95% CI: 2.21-3.05), lower income, and higher comorbidity. Individuals residing in regions with high aggregate EPGIC utilization experienced lower rates of hospitalization compared with those in regions with low utilization (adjusted IRR, 0.83; 95% CI: 0.70-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: IBD-related health-care utilization decreased significantly up to 5 years following surgery. EPGIC may reduce late CD-related hospitalizations following surgery.

Women's sexual orientation and health: results from a Canadian population-based survey.

The current study sought to determine whether health status and health risk behaviors of Canadian women varied based on sexual identity. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Canadian Community Health Survey: cycle 2.1, a national population-based survey designed to gather health data on a representative sample of over 135,000 Canadians including 354 lesbian respondents, 424 bisexual women respondents, and 60,937 heterosexual women respondents. Sexual orientation was associated with disparities in health status and health risk behaviors for lesbian and bisexual women in Canada. Bisexual women were more likely than lesbians or heterosexual women to report poor or fair mental and physical health, mood or anxiety disorders, lifetime STD diagnosis, and, most markedly, life-time suicidality. Lesbians and bisexual women were also more likely to report daily smoking and risky drinking than heterosexual women. In sum, sexual orientation was associated with health status in Canada. Bisexual women, in particular, reported poorer health outcomes than lesbian or heterosexual women, indicating this group may be an appropriate target for specific health promotion interventions.

Hospitalizations for inflammatory bowel disease: profile of the uninsured in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients may be at increased risk for having no health insurance. Our objectives were to assess the prevalence of hospitalized IBD patients without insurance in the US and to characterize predictive factors. METHODS: We identified IBD admissions in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (1999-2005) and a 1% sample of general medical patients. We used population estimates from the US Census Bureau to calculate hospitalization rates, and logistic regression to determine predictors of being uninsured. RESULTS: Although uninsured IBD patients were less likely to be hospitalized than those privately insured (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.38-0.45), their hospitalization rate increased from 8.3/100,000 to 12.5/100,000 (P < 0.001) over 7 years, outpacing private admissions. The proportion of uninsured IBD inpatients increased from 4.6% to 6.5% (P < 0.001), and IBD patients were more likely than general medical patients to be uninsured (5.1% vs. 4.1%, P < 0.0001). Predictors of being uninsured were being 21 to 40 years (odds ratio [OR] 1.95; 95% CI: 1.64-2.31), African American (OR 1.51; 95% CI: 1.29-0.76) or Hispanic (OR 2.21; 95% CI: 1.79-2.74), or residing in the southern US (OR 1.63; 95% CI: 1.27-2.11). Being female (OR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.61-0.70), residing in higher income neighborhoods (OR 0.69; 95% CI: 0.62-0.77), and higher comorbidity were protective factors. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of uninsured IBD admissions has risen disproportionately relative to the privately insured and general medical populations. We need measures to alleviate the burden of being uninsured among young and otherwise healthy adults with IBD who are most vulnerable.