Cardiometabolic Comorbidity Risk in Pediatric Patients With Psychiatric Illnesses: A Case-Control Inpatient Study

Objectives To delineate the differences in the cardiometabolic comorbidities in pediatric patients with medical versus psychiatric illnesses and to determine the risk of association between the spectrum of cardiometabolic comorbidities in pediatric patients with a broad range of psychiatric illnesses. Methods We conducted a case-control study using the nationwide inpatient sample (NIS), the largest hospital database in the United States (US) and included 179,550 pediatric patients (age 10-18 years) that were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of psychiatric illness (N = 89,775) and pediatric patients that were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of medical illness (N = 89,775). We used descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test to delineate the differences between pediatric inpatients with medical versus psychiatric illnesses. Results The majority of pediatric patients with psychiatric illnesses were females (58%) and white (62%), with a mean age of 15 years. Cardiometabolic comorbidities were higher in patients admitted for psychiatric illness, with a higher prevalence of hypothyroidism (1.6%) and obesity (7.1%) than in those hospitalized for medical illnesses. Among all cardiometabolic comorbidities, obesity had the highest prevalence across all psychiatric illnesses, measuring eight percent in patients with disruptive behavior disorders, followed by seven percent each in anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders. Diabetes had the lowest prevalence hovering between one and two percent for a spectrum of psychiatric illnesses. Conclusion The prevalence of cardiometabolic comorbidities is higher in pediatric inpatients with psychiatric illnesses. This calls for timely monitoring of the routine labs and early diagnosis and management of the cardiometabolic comorbidities in this at-risk population.