Table 1.
Characteristics of Alcohol Use Disorder Hospitalizations
| Characteristic | Unique AUD Hospitalizations of Veterans Not Using MAUD Prior to Hospitalization |
|---|---|
| No. Hospitalizations | 29,041 |
| Demographics, No. (%) | |
| Age, median (IQR) | 55 (41-64) |
| Age Category, years | |
| 18-39 | 6,074 (20.9%) |
| 40-64 | 16,604 (57.2%) |
| 65+ | 6,363 (21.9%) |
| Sex | |
| Male | 27,406 (94.4%) |
| Female | 1,635 (5.6%) |
| Race and Ethnicity | |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 476 (1.6%) |
| Asian | 95 (0.3%) |
| Black or African American | 4,963 (17.1%) |
| Hispanic | 2,038 (7.0%) |
| Multi-racial | 261 (0.9%) |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 145 (0.5%) |
| White | 19,015 (65.5%) |
| Missing | 2,048 (7.1%) |
| Rurality | |
| Urban | 15,731 (54.2%) |
| Rural | 13,089 (45.1%) |
| Missing | 221 (0.8%) |
| Area Deprivation Index | |
| 1-25 (Lowest Deprivation) | 4,045 (13.9%) |
| 26-50 | 7,617 (26.2%) |
| 51-75 | 8,403 (28.9%) |
| 76-100 (Highest Deprivation) | 7,514 (25.9%) |
| Missing | 1,462 (5.0%) |
| Alcohol Related Disorder Characteristics, No. (%) | |
| Prior AUD Diagnosis | 24,750 (85.2%) |
| Pre-Admission AUDIT-C Category a | |
| No Reported Use (Score 0) | 2,993 (10.3%) |
| Low Use (Score 1-2 for females; 1-3 for males) | 3,074 (10.6%) |
| Unhealthy Use (Score 3-6 for females; 4-6 for males) | 3,802 (13.1%) |
| High Risk Use (Score 7-8) | 2,309 (8.0%) |
| Very High Risk Use (Score ≥9) | 11,515 (39.7%) |
| Missing | 5,348 (18.4%) |
| Remote Prior Use of Medications for AUD | 7,481 (25.8%) |
| Clinical Characteristics and Utilization, No. (%) | |
| VA CAN Score | |
| 0-19 | 1,784 (6.1%) |
| 20-39 | 5,127 (17.7%) |
| 40-59 | 6,010 (20.7%) |
| 60-79 | 6,248 (21.5%) |
| 80-99 | 7,337 (25.3%) |
| Missing | 2,535 (8.7%) |
| Frailty Category | |
| Non-frail | 9,201 (31.7%) |
| Prefrail | 7,937 (27.3%) |
| Mildly Frail | 5,574 (19.2%) |
| Moderately Frail | 3,420 (11.8%) |
| Severely Frail | 2,909 (10.0%) |
| Select Comorbidities | |
| Depression | 12,161 (41.9%) |
| Opioid Use Disorder | 3,784 (13.0%) |
| Liver Disease | 4,870 (16.8%) |
| Psychosis | 4,561 (15.7%) |
| Renal Failure | 633 (2.1%) |
| Seizure Disorder | 1,532 (5.2%) |
| Prior Year Utilization | |
| Any Primary Care Visits | 22,417 (77.6%) |
| Any Emergency Department Visits | 22435 (77.2%) |
| Any Hospitalizations | 17316 (59.6%) |
| Hospitalization Characteristics, No. (%) | |
| Receipt of Addiction Specialty Consult | |
| Clinician | 834 (2.9%) |
| Non-clinician | 4,354 (15.0%) |
| Length of Stay, days, Median (IQR) | 3 (2 to 6) |
| Intensive Care Unit Care | 2,481 (8.5%) |
| Discharging Specialty | |
| Medicine | 16,240 (55.9%) |
| Psychiatry | 11,499 (39.6%) |
| Surgery | 1,302 (4.5%) |
| Discharge Disposition | |
| Regular | 25,884 (89.1%) |
| Against Medical Advice | 3,075 (10.6%) |
| Domiciliary | 82 (0.3%) |
| Discharge Year | |
| 2022 | 14,569 (50.2%) |
| 2023 | 14,472 (49.8%) |
| Hospital Characteristics | |
| Overall Hospitalizations 2022-2023, Median (IQR) | 9,248 (4,781 to 12,085) |
| Substance Use Disorder Hospitalizations 2022-2023, Median (IQR) | 601 (366 to 962) |
| Hospital Complexity Level, No. (%) | |
| High | 26,209 (90.2%) |
| Medium | 1,460 (5.0%) |
| Low | 1,372 (4.7%) |
| Hospital Proportion of Rural Veterans, Median (IQR) | 8.5% (3.7% to 19.3%) |
| Hospital Proportion of Non-White Veterans, Median (IQR) | 26.3% (16.5% to 40.6%) |
| Hospital with Inpatient Substance Use Program, No. (%) | 17,729 (61.0%) |
| Hospital Associated with Domiciliary, No. (%) | 13,357 (46.0%) |
Abbreviations: MAUD, medications for alcohol use disorder; AUD, alcohol use disorder; AUDIT-C, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise; CAN, Care Assessment Need; PCP, primary care provider
Note: Table does not include VA priority group, Elixhauser comorbidities, VA hospital, or discharge month variables which are listed fully in Supplemental Table 3. Supplemental Table 1 provides patient-level demographic characteristics, as patients could contribute multiple hospitalizations to the cohort.