Objective:

To describe ED presentation patterns, acute care utilization, comorbidity burden, and mortality among individuals with and without diabetes in a large population-based emergency care cohort from southern Sweden.

Approach:

• Study Design: Population-based cohort analysis using anonymized data from emergency departments in Region Skåne, Sweden, covering ED visits from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018.
• Study Population: The dataset included 563,454 ED visits by 296,991 unique individuals, with 60,654 visits (10.8%) made by patients with a recorded diagnosis of diabetes.
• Variables of Interest: Analysis focused on diabetes status, age, sex, previous ED visits, ambulance arrival, triage at arrival, ED length of stay, reason for visit, and comorbidity.

Key Findings:

• Individuals with diabetes have higher rates of emergency visits and unplanned hospitalizations compared to non-diabetics.
• Diabetes is associated with increased illness severity, longer ED stays, and higher admission rates.
• Short-term outcomes, including ICU admission and early mortality, are worse among ED patients with diabetes.

Interpretation:

The findings indicate that diabetes significantly impacts clinical outcomes in emergency settings, highlighting the need for targeted strategies to manage this population.

Limitations:

• The study is based on data from a single region, which may limit generalizability.
• Potential confounding factors not accounted for in the analysis.

Conclusion:

Individuals with diabetes represent a clinically vulnerable population within emergency care, necessitating improved identification and management strategies.