Hospitalisation Trends for Choroid and Retina Diseases in the Past 20 Years: An Ecological Study in Australia

BACKGROUND: Choroidal and retinal disorders significantly contribute to vision impairment, often necessitating hospitalization for the purposes of diagnosis, treatment, and continued care. The aim of this study was to examine hospitalisation trends of choroid and retina diseases in the past 20 years in Australia. METHODS: This was an ecological study that used publically available data in Australia from 1998 to 2021. The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) is an online database that was used to collect the data for this study. We used the chi-squared test to assess the difference between the hospitalisation rates between 1998 and 2021. RESULTS: During the study period, hospital admission rate for choroid and retina diseases increased by 13.21-fold [from 29.54 (95% CI 28.77–30.32) in 1998 to 419.70 (95% CI 417.21–422.20) in 2021 per 100,000 persons, p<0.001]. Same-day hospital admission patients accounted for 90.3% of the total number of episodes. Rates of same-day hospital admission increased by 37.70-fold [from 9.24 (95% CI 8.81–9.68) in 1998 to 357.78 (95% CI 355.48–360.09) in 2021 per 100,000 persons]. Rates of overnight-stay hospital admission decreased by 19.3% [from 20.34 (95% CI 19.69–20.98) in 1998 to 16.41 (95% CI 15.91–16.90) in 2021 per 100,000 persons]. Females contributed to 54.6% of the total number of hospital admission. Admission rate among females increased by 16.01-fold [from 23.68 (95% CI 22.70–24.66) in 1998 to 402.78 (95% CI 399.33–406.22) in 2021 per 100,000 persons]. Admission rate among males increased by 8.69-fold [from 35.57 (95% CI 34.36–36.78) in 1998 to 344.80 (95% CI 341.58–348.02) in 2021 per 100,000 persons]. CONCLUSION: In this ecological investigation, we found that the admission rate for choroid and retina disorders increased dramatically. The preponderance of these admissions were made up of females and elderly patients. Future research is required to identify additional risk factors for disorders of this type.