Characteristics of hospitalizations and death cases of diabetic patients in a general hospital.

Hospital admissions of diabetic patients were analyzed in relation to total hospital admissions, during a period of 7 years in a general hospital. The prevalence of hospitalization of diabetic patients was 2.5%. The female to male ratio was 1.4:1.0. Admissions of diabetic patients to hospital are mainly in the older age groups. By the age of 40 years, 73.4% of the total hospitalizations occur but only 13.0% of these hospital admissions are diabetics. The age at time of death of admissions ending fatally is similar in both the total and the diabetic admission groups to hospital. When the percentages of hospital admissions which terminated in death are calculated for age groups, an increase is specifically demonstrated in the diabetic group compared to the total admission group. Thus, diabetes is a complicating factor which increases mortality in people over 50 years of age.