Table 3.
Comparison of healthcare utilisation patterns between children with and without ASD
| ASD N = 459 |
No ASD N = 2285 |
ORa (95% CI) |
aORb (95% CI) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary physician visits per year | ||||
| 0 | 306 (66.7%) | 1702 (74.5%) | Ref | |
| 0–1 | 123 (26.8%) | 451 (19.7%) | 1.52 (1.20–1.92) | 1.20 (0.94–1.53) |
| >1 | 30 (6.5%) | 132 (5.8%) | 1.26 (0.84–1.91) | 0.89 (0.71–1.12) |
| ED referral per year | ||||
| 0 | 119 (25.9%) | 737 (32.3%) | Ref | |
| 0–1 | 247 (53.8%) | 1278 (55.9%) | 1.20 (0.95–1.52) | 1.06 (0.83–1.35) |
| >1 | 93 (20.1%) | 270 (11.9%) | 2.13 (1.57–2.89) | 1.28 (1.08–1.50) |
| Admissions per year | ||||
| 0 | 249 (54.2%) | 1482 (64.9%) | Ref | |
| 0–1 | 112 (24.4%) | 522 (22.8%) | 1.28 (1.00–1.63) | 1.10 (0.86–1.42) |
| >1 | 98 (21.4%) | 281 (12.3%) | 2.08 (1.59–2.71) | 1.28 (1.11–1.47) |
| Admission length (days) | ||||
| 0–1 | 52 (24.8%) | 251 (31.3%) | Ref | |
| 1–3 | 114 (54.3%) | 382 (47.6%) | 1.44 (1.00–2.07) | 1.34 (0.92–1.95) |
| >3 | 44 (21.0%) | 170 (21.1%) | 1.25 (0.80–1.95) | 1.08 (0.86–1.36) |
| Paediatric ward | ||||
| Surgical | 28 (6.1%) | 102 (4.5%) | 1.39 (0.90–2.14) | 1.04 (0.66–1.65) |
| Intensive care | 9 (2.0%) | 33 (1%) | 1.37 (0.65–2.87) | 0.86 (0.38–1.96) |
a
Crude odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
b
Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for the number of comorbidities of a child.
Statistically significant odds ratios (p<0.05) are highlighted in bold font.