Association of insurance status with chronic kidney disease stage at diagnosis in children

Abstract

Background: Whether medical insurance impacts the timely diagnosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD) children is unknown. We aim to examine the extent to which insurance is associated with access to timely diagnosis and different stages of CKD among a large population of children in China.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study based on China's national hospitalized record database was carried out. Children aged 0-17 years diagnosed as CKD stages 1-5 between June 1, 2013, and December 31, 2018, were included. A diagnosis of advanced CKD stage (CKD stage 4 or 5) was the primary outcome. Multivariable logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, cross-regional hospitalization, year of diagnosis, and cause of CKD was used to assess the association between insurance status and the stage of CKD when diagnosed.

Results: A total of 10,256 children (median [interquartile range, IQR] age, 12.4 [7.9, 15.4] years) were included. There were 4716 (46.0%) uninsured children in the included population. The insurance coverage was highest in children 13-17 years old (60.9%). The hospitalized charge was highest in stage 5 uninsured children (median [IQR], ¥13,000.89 [7640.63, 24,585.00]). More uninsured children are diagnosed in CKD stage 4 or 5 (48.1%) than insured children (47.5%). Uninsured children had higher odds (odds ratio [OR] 1.20, [95% CI, 1.08-1.32]) of receiving a diagnosis of CKD stage 4 or 5 compared with insured children.

Conclusions: Lack of medical insurance was associated with a more advanced stage of CKD when diagnosed in hospitalized children. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

Keywords: Children; Chronic kidney disease; Early diagnosis; Hospitalized charge; Insurance.