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Health Disparities in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder and COVID-19

Authors :
Janet Lee
Lisa Ferretti
Camden Nelson
Priya Nigam
Jessica Zawacki
Philip McCallion
Source :
Children, Vol 11, Iss 11, p 1363 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face unique challenges, especially amongst individuals from historically minoritized racial groups. ASD has also been associated with an increased mortality from COVID-19. This study aims to explore the differences in sociodemographic factors and health outcomes (as measured by length of stay) amongst hospitalized pediatric patients with COVID-19 infections and a diagnosis of ASD compared to individuals with a COVID-19 infection alone; Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study examining pediatric patients (ages birth to 21) who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of ASD and COVID-19 compared to patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 alone between January 2019 and June 2023 using Epic Systems Corporation’s Cosmos, a de-identified dataset aggregated from electronic health record data. We examined differences in demographic factors and length of stay (LOS) between groups by utilizing chi-square and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Multiple logistic regression models were utilized to assess the association between length of stay and diagnosis; Results: A total of 21,708 distinct pediatric patients with a diagnosis of ASD and COVID-19 or COVID-19 alone were included in the analytical dataset. Patients with ASD and COVID-19, compared to patients with COVID-19 alone, had a higher proportion of individuals identifying as male and White. Patients with COVID-19 alone, compared to individuals with ASD and COVID-19, had higher proportions of individuals identifying as Black or African American. Higher proportions of individuals with ASD and COVID-19 had public insurance, compared to individuals with COVID-19 alone. Having a diagnosis of ASD and COVID, after controlling for covariates, was associated with higher odds of having a length of stay greater than the three days (cutoff value determined by the median LOS of three days) compared to having a diagnosis of COVID alone (aOR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04–1.35); Conclusions: Our study highlights the health disparities experienced during hospitalizations by pediatric patients with ASD and COVID-19. Further studies should address barriers and support health outcomes for pediatric patients with ASD.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22279067
Volume :
11
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Children
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.352c43f53d4923a19351cc2cba720e
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11111363