Schizophrenia and potentially preventable hospitalizations in the United States: a retrospective cross-sectional study

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study. Hospitalization data for the US were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for years 2003--2008. We examined 15,275,337 medical and surgical discharges for adults aged 18--64, 182,423 of which had a secondary diagnosis of schizophrenia. ACS hospitalizations were measured using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs). We developed logistic regression models to obtain nationally-weighted odds ratios (OR) for ACS hospitalizations, comparing those with and without a secondary diagnosis of schizophrenia after adjusting for patient, hospitalization, and hospital characteristics.Schizophrenia was associated with increased odds of hospitalization for acute ACS conditions (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.31, 1.38), as well as for chronic ACS conditions characterized by short-term exacerbations. Schizophrenia was associated with decreased odds of hospitalization for diabetes mellitus long-term complications and diabetes-related lower extremity amputation, conditions characterized by long-term deterioration.Additional research is needed to determine which individual and health systems factors contribute to the increased odds of hospitalization for acute PQIs in schizophrenia.