Association of neighborhood location and 30-day readmissions in patients with diabetes.

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the most common diagnoses associated with hospital admissions in the United States, costing billions to healthcare payors. An indicator of readmission risk is the Area Deprivation Index (ADI)-a measure of social determinants of health that utilizes patient residence. In this study, we assess whether ADI is associated with 30-day readmissions in patients admitted with diabetes. This retrospective cohort study included adult patients hospitalized between October 2018 and October 2023 with a diagnosis related to diabetes. The main variables included were patient demographics (including zip code as a proxy for neighborhood), comorbidities, and diabetes-related complications. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to analyze differences between ADI quartiles and readmission within 30-day postdischarge. A total of 6095 patients were included, with an average age of 57 (SD = 16.7); 48.4% of participants were Black, and 46.5% were female. There were 848 (14%) readmissions with diabetes. We found no significant association between any ADI groups and 30-day readmissions. Residence in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood was not shown to have a significant association with the risk of 30-day readmissions in patients with diabetes mellitus. More research is needed to understand the impact of neighborhood disadvantage on readmissions.