Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of major noncommunicable diseases among young adults with pediatric-onset disabilities (PoDs) compared with young adults without PoDs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart, a de-identified nationwide claims database of beneficiaries from a single private payer in the United States. Beneficiaries were included if they were 18 to 40 years old and had an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnostic code for a PoD known to originate in childhood. Diagnostic codes were used to identify high-burden noncommunicable diseases: ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertensive and other cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, malignant cancer, osteoporosis, mood affective disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and liver disease. The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and multimorbidity (≥2 diseases) was compared between adults with (N=47,077) and without (N=2,180,250) PoDs, before and after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. This study was conducted between July 1, 2018, and February 1, 2019. RESULTS: Adults with PoDs had higher prevalences and adjusted odds of all noncommunicable diseases (odds ratio, 2.1-9.0; all P<.05) and multimorbidity (odds ratio, 3.8; 95% CI, 3.7-3.9) compared with adults without PoDs. After stratifying by the type of PoD (eg, musculoskeletal, circulatory), all PoD categories had higher prevalence of all noncommunicable diseases and multimorbidity compared with young adults without PoDs, except for ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease among adults with PoDs of the genital organs. CONCLUSION: Young adults with PoDs have an early onset of several noncommunicable diseases that represent major contributors to the global and national burden of disease and mortality.