Hospitalizations Up for Young Adults With Childhood-Onset Complex Chronic Conditions

THURSDAY, Feb. 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Young adults with childhood-onset complex chronic conditions (4Cs) have longer acute care medical hospitalizations, higher costs, and higher readmission rates than other young adults, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Network Open.Sarah L. Malecki, M.D., from SickKids Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, and colleagues identified and characterized young adults aged 18 to 39 years with 4Cs in hospitals and compared their outcomes with other hospitalized young adults in a retrospective cohort study.Of 19,915 hospitalizations experienced by 15,072 patients, 1,329 (6.7 percent) in 814 individuals (5.4 percent) were associated with 4Cs. Hereditary anemias, cystic fibrosis, and cerebral palsy were the most prevalent pediatric conditions. The researchers found that hospitalizations of patients with 4Cs accounted for 10.7 percent of young adult hospital bed-days. Lower Charlson Comorbidity Index scores were seen for patients hospitalized with 4Cs (e.g., ≥3: 0.9 versus 2.8 percent); compared with those without 4Cs, they were more likely to have longer hospital stays, higher total costs, more prescribed medications, fewer advanced imaging scans, and higher 30-day readmission rates (relative ratios, 1.62, 1.65, 1.26, 0.85, and 1.59, respectively). Intensive care unit admissions and in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly for those with and without 4Cs."The results suggest that this resource-intensive population should be prioritized for targeted policy interventions to reduce inpatient stays and improve care," the authors write.Abstract/Full TextEditorial.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Hospitalizations Up for Young Adults With Childhood-Onset Complex Chronic Conditions

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