Adverse Drug Reaction-Related Hospital Admissions in Older Adults With Diabetes: Incidence and Implicated Drug Classes.

OBJECTIVE

Adverse drug reaction (ADR)-related hospital admissions are common among older adults. However, those with diabetes have received little research attention with respect to ADRs in recent years, despite the rising prevalence of diabetes and its associated multimorbidity. This study aimed to examine temporal trends in ADR-related hospital admissions among older adults with diabetes, compared to those without diabetes.

METHODS

The National Minimum Dataset from the 3 major public hospitals in Tasmania, Australia, was used to identify all individuals aged ≥65 years hospitalised between 2017 and 2023. International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision, Australian Modification codes were used to identify patients with diabetes and ADR-related hospital admissions. Rates of ADR-related hospital admissions were expressed as estimated incidence rate (IR) in the population corresponding to the hospitals' catchment area.

RESULTS

Between 2018 and 2022, the estimated sex-adjusted IR of ADR-related hospital admissions remained stable in the diabetes group (39.9 to 40.3 per 1000 person-years; P = .85) and decreased in the nondiabetes group (17.8 to 14.8 per 1000 person-years; P < .001). The IR ratio of an ADR-related admission in those with diabetes, compared to those without diabetes, increased over the same period (P < .05), from 2.24 (95% CI: 2.03-2.47) to 2.72 (95% CI: 2.48-2.98). Corticosteroids, anticoagulants and antihypertensives were major contributors to ADR-related admissions in older adults with diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

ADR-related hospital admissions were consistently more common in older adults with diabetes, compared to those without diabetes. These findings underscore the need for targeted medication safety strategies in this high-risk population.