Hospital admissions in Italy for liver and gastrointestinal diseases in the period 1999-2002: an epidemiological study.

AIM

The aim of this study is to assess the total number of admissions and the rates of hospitalization in Italy for liver and gastrointestinal diseases in the period 1999-2002, and to indirectly highlight the peculiar epidemiological features of the diseases causing these admissions.

METHODS

The data bank of the Italian Ministry of Health has been consulted. The total number of admissions for liver and gastrointestinal diseases as coded by the International Classification of Diseases Manual - Ninth Edition - Clinical Modification, and their relevant admission rates in the considered period have been calculated. Age, sex, and regional rates for these admissions have also been calculated.

RESULTS

In Italy, during the years 1999-2002, a total number of 7,294,792 patients (4,034,195 males and 3,260,597 females) were admitted with liver and gastrointestinal diseases. The total number of admissions relevant to the pathologies being considered has been quite steady in the study period. The calculated mean national rate of admission for these diseases was 3.19/100 (highest rate of 3.27/100 recorded in 1999 and lowest rate of 3.14/100 recorded in 2002). The highest rates of admission for the considered diseases were recorded in the two age ranges '<1 year' and '75 years and more', during the entire periods (highest rates of admission of 12.23/100 and 6.56/100, respectively, recorded in 1999). In the age range '15-24 years', the lowest rates of admission have been calculated (lowest rate of admission of 1.66/100 recorded in 2002). The Italian regions where the highest and lowest admission rates for these pathologies have been recorded are the Umbria region in 1999 (admission rate of 4.02/100) and the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in 2002 (admission rate of 2.54/100), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The study shows that in Italy a great percentage of hospital admissions is due to liver and gastrointestinal diseases; it might indirectly suggest that liver and gastrointestinal diseases are related to sex, age, and geographical factors. It, furthermore, indicates that the Italian hospital-assistance system is inadequate with respect to the number of hospitalizations for these diseases.