In a population-based cohort study, adults with young-onset diabetes (YOD) experienced excess hospitalizations across their lifespan compared with those with usual-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D), including a large burden of mental illness in young adulthood. Adults aged 20-75 years in population-based (2002 to 2014; n=422,908) and registry-based (200 to 2014; n=20,886) T2D cohorts were included. Researchers sought to determine hospitalization rates among persons with YOD and to examine the effect of age at onset on hospitalization risk. Primary outcomes were all-cause and cause-specific hospitalization rates. They found:

• Patients with YOD had the highest hospitalization rates by attained age.
• In the registry cohort, 36.8% of YOD bed-days before age 40 years were due to mental illness.
• Adjusted rate ratios showed increased hospitalization in YOD vs usual-onset T2D (all-cause, 1.8; renal, 6.7; diabetes, 3.7; cardiovascular, 2.1; infection, 1.7).