Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) disproportionately affects young adults, women, and Black people, and these patients are at a high risk for loss of bodily function and mortality, according to a study published in Cureus.
In this study, researchers used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to retrospectively analyze the frequency and yearly rates of HS hospitalizations, demographic variations, rates of comorbidities, and length of stay.
According to the results, the rate of hospitalizations with HS as a primary diagnosis increased from 7.9 per 100,000 all-cause hospitalizations in 2008 to 11.6 per 100,000 all-cause hospitalizations in 2017, a significant uptick. The average age of hospitalized patients was around 39.5 years old. The age group of 18-34 years was the most affected, the results noted. Moreover, the results showed that Women had a higher preponderance of the disease than men (56.6% vs. 43.5%, p < 0.0001), and Blacks were the most affected out of all the racial groups (59.9%).
“HS disproportionately affects young adults, women, and Black patients. A significant proportion of these patients are at a major risk of major loss of bodily function or death. Prospective studies are needed to identify the risk factors for hospitalizations in these patient populations and devise appropriate prevention and treatment strategies,” the researchers concluded.
