J Clin Gastroenterol. 2021 Oct 14. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0000000000001617. Online ahead of print.

Dariush Shahsavari ¹, Rachel Thomas, Adam C Ehrlich, Laurence H Feinstein, Zubair Malik, Henry P Parkman

Author information

• ¹Section of Gastroenterology, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University Department of Pediatrics, Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

Abstract

Goal: The goal of this study was to characterize the etiology and demographics of hospitalized patients with gastroparesis (Gp) across different age groups.

Background: Gp is a chronic condition associated with increasing hospitalizations and costs. The gender and etiology distributions of Gp throughout the age spectrum are unknown.

Materials and methods: Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) were used to identify patients using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes for Gp as a primary diagnosis or as secondary diagnosis with the first diagnosis a GI-related symptom.

Results: There were a total of 15,790 admissions (75.6% female, age: 46.2±18.0 y). After age 6, female admissions percentage increased: ages 2 to 5: 45.0%, ages 6 to 12: 62.8%, ages 13 to 20: 76.7% (P<0.001), with a distinct increase at age 12. Diabetic gastroparesis (DG) was seen in 3995 (25.3%) of all Gp admissions but in only 1.1% of children under the age of 20. Overall, 68% of DG admissions were female, but a higher percentage of DG was seen among male admissions for Gp compared with female admissions for Gp between ages 21 and 64 (38.3% vs. 23%, P<0.001). The most common races were white (63.2%), African American (20.6%), and Hispanic (8.7%). DG was more often present in Native American (61.9%), Hispanic (39.1%), and African American (38.2%) admissions than in white patients (17.8%; P<0.05).

Conclusions: This study using large inpatient databases shows that the gender, race, and etiology of Gp admissions is age-dependent. The female predominance of Gp admissions is more prominent from the second decade of life. DG, although uncommon in children, is seen more often in nonwhite admissions.