Racial, biological sex, and geographic disparities of venous thromboembolism in the United States, 2016 to 2019

Type of Research: Multicenter nonrandomized retrospective cohort utilizing NIS data.Key Findings: In examining 455,111 cases of venous thromboembolism, comprising 189,271 PE and177,410 DVT cases, a significant upward trend in hospitalization incidences was observed, specifically for PE. Black patients demonstrated the highest hospitalization rates (10.36/1000 for PE, 9.1/1000 for DVT), while Asian and Pacific Islander patients had the lowest. The highest regional incidences were in the Mountain region for PE (9.62/1000) and the Middle Atlantic region for DVT (8.65/1000).Take home Message: There is a significant and increasing trend in hospitalization rates for both PE and DVT, with notable racial and regional disparities. Specifically, Black patients face the highest risk of hospitalization for both conditions, and the Mountain region records the highest rate for PE, while the Middle Atlantic has the highest for DVT. This study emphasizes the need for targeted healthcare strategies to address these disparities and improve patient outcomes. BackgroundVenous thromboembolism (VTE) stands as the leading cause of preventable death within hospitals in the United States. While there have been some studies investigating incidence rates of VTE, there has yet to be a large-scale study elucidating disparities in sex, race, income, region, and seasons in patients with VTE. The goal of this study was to report the disparities in race, sex, income, region, and seasons in patients with VTE, pulmonary embolism (PE), and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), in hospitalized patients from 2016-2019.MethodsWe used the United States National Inpatients Sample database to identify inpatients diagnosed with PE, DVT, and PE & DVT from 2016 to 2019. The inpatient incidence per thousand was calculated for sex and race using the weighted sample model. The regional and monthly incidence of DVT and PE per thousand inpatients and risk of incidence were calculated. Patients' characteristics including hospital type, bed size, median length of stay, median total charges, and mortality were also collected.ResultsWe examined 455,111 cases of VTE, 177,410 cases of DVT, 189,271 cases of PE, and 88,430 cases of both DVT and PE combined. Over the study period, we observed a statistically significant trend among PE hospitalization incidences. There was a strong and positive correlation between DVT and PE inpatients. Black inpatients had the highest cumulative incidence of hospitalizations in all cohorts with 10.36/1000 in PE, and 9.1/1000 in DVT. Asian and Pacific Islander inpatients had the lowest cumulative incidence with 4.42/1000 in PE and 4.28/1000 in DVT. Females showed the lowest cumulative incidence with 7.47/1000 in PE and 6.53/1000 in DVT. Mountain region was the highest among PE hospitalizations with 9.62/1000. For DVT, Middle Atlantic region was the highest at 8.65/1000. The in-hospital mortality was the highest among the PE hospitalizations with 7.3%. Also, the trend analysis showed significant increases among all groups.ConclusionOver the study period (2016-2019), we reported the racial, biological sex, and geographical disparities from the National Inpatient Sample database, highlighting that Black inpatients had the highest incidence of PE and DVT, while Asian / Pacific Islander inpatients had the lowest incidence of PE and DVT. Moreover, women had lower incidence compared to men. The observed regional variations indicated that the incidence of PE was highest in the Mountain region, whereas the incidence of DVT was lowest in the Middle Atlantic region. There was an increase in the mortality of inpatients diagnosed with VTE reflecting the growing burden of this condition in the U.S. healthcare system. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) stands as the leading cause of preventable death within hospitals in the United States. While there have been some studies investigating incidence rates of VTE, there has yet to be a large-scale study elucidating disparities in sex, race, income, region, and seasons in patients with VTE. The goal of this study was to report the disparities in race, sex, income, region, and seasons in patients with VTE, pulmonary embolism (PE), and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), in hospitalized patients from 2016-2019. We used the United States National Inpatients Sample database to identify inpatients diagnosed with PE, DVT, and PE & DVT from 2016 to 2019. The inpatient incidence per thousand was calculated for sex and race using the weighted sample model. The regional and monthly incidence of DVT and PE per thousand inpatients and risk of incidence were calculated. Patients' characteristics including hospital type, bed size, median length of stay, median total charges, and mortality were also collected. We examined 455,111 cases of VTE, 177,410 cases of DVT, 189,271 cases of PE, and 88,430 cases of both DVT and PE combined. Over the study period, we observed a statistically significant trend among PE hospitalization incidences. There was a strong and positive correlation between DVT and PE inpatients. Black inpatients had the highest cumulative incidence of hospitalizations in all cohorts with 10.36/1000 in PE, and 9.1/1000 in DVT. Asian and Pacific Islander inpatients had the lowest cumulative incidence with 4.42/1000 in PE and 4.28/1000 in DVT. Females showed the lowest cumulative incidence with 7.47/1000 in PE and 6.53/1000 in DVT. Mountain region was the highest among PE hospitalizations with 9.62/1000. For DVT, Middle Atlantic region was the highest at 8.65/1000. The in-hospital mortality was the highest among the PE hospitalizations with 7.3%. Also, the trend analysis showed significant increases among all groups. Over the study period (2016-2019), we reported the racial, biological sex, and geographical disparities from the National Inpatient Sample database, highlighting that Black inpatients had the highest incidence of PE and DVT, while Asian / Pacific Islander inpatients had the lowest incidence of PE and DVT. Moreover, women had lower incidence compared to men. The observed regional variations indicated that the incidence of PE was highest in the Mountain region, whereas the incidence of DVT was lowest in the Middle Atlantic region. There was an increase in the mortality of inpatients diagnosed with VTE reflecting the growing burden of this condition in the U.S. healthcare system.