Data from: Identifying patterns of non-communicable diseases in developed eastern coastal China: a longitudinal study of electronic health records from 12 public hospitals

Objective: Few studies have examined the spectrum and trends of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in inpatients in eastern coastal China, which is transforming from an industrial economy to a service-oriented economy and is the most economically developed region in the country. This study aimed to dynamically elucidate the spectrum and characteristics of severe NCDs in eastern coastal China by analysing patients’ longitudinal electronic health records (EHRs).
Setting: To monitor the spectrum of NCDs dynamically, we extracted the EHR data from 12 general tertiary hospitals in eastern coastal China from 2003 to 2014. The rankings of and trends in the proportions of different NCDs presented by inpatients in different gender and age groups were calculated and analysed.
Participants: We obtained a total sample of 1,907,484 inpatients with NCDs from 2003 to 2014, 50.05% of whom were male and 81.53% were aged 50 years or older.
Results: There was an increase in the number of total NCD inpatients in eastern coastal China from 2003 to 2014. However, the proportion of chronic respiratory diseases and cancer inpatients decreased over the 12-year period. Compared with men, women displayed a significant increase in the proportion of mental and behavioural disorders (P<0.001) over time. Additionally, digestive diseases and sensory organ diseases significantly decreased among men, but not women. The older group accounted for a larger and growing proportion of the NCD inpatients, and the most common conditions in this group were cerebral infarctions, coronary heart disease and hypertension. In addition, the proportion of 21- to 50-year-old inpatients with diabetes, blood diseases or endocrine diseases skyrocketed from 2003 to 2014 (P<0.001).
Conclusions: The burden of inpatients' NCDs increased rapidly, particularly among women and younger people. The NCD spectrum observed in eastern coastal China is a good source of evidence for developing prevention guides for regions experiencing transition.

研究目标：目前针对中国东部沿海地区住院患者非传染性疾病（non-communicable diseases, NCDs）的疾病谱与流行趋势的研究仍较为匮乏——该地区正从工业经济向服务型经济转型，亦是全国经济最发达的区域。本研究通过分析患者的纵向电子健康档案（electronic health records, EHRs），旨在动态阐明中国东部沿海地区重症非传染性疾病的疾病谱与特征。
研究场景：为动态监测非传染性疾病的疾病谱，我们提取了中国东部沿海地区12家综合三级医院2003至2014年的电子健康档案数据，并计算分析了不同性别、年龄组住院患者所患各类非传染性疾病占比的排名与变化趋势。
研究对象：本研究共纳入2003至2014年间的1907484名非传染性疾病住院患者，其中男性占比50.05%，50岁及以上患者占比81.53%。
研究结果：2003至2014年间，中国东部沿海地区非传染性疾病住院患者总规模呈上升态势。但在此12年间，慢性呼吸系统疾病与癌症住院患者的占比有所下降。与男性患者相比，女性患者的精神与行为障碍占比随时间显著升高（P<0.001）。此外，男性患者的消化系统疾病与感官器官疾病占比显著降低，女性患者则未出现该变化。老年组非传染性疾病住院患者的占比更高且持续增长，该组最常见的病症为脑梗死、冠心病与高血压。同时，21至50岁年龄组糖尿病、血液系统疾病或内分泌系统疾病住院患者的占比在2003至2014年间大幅攀升（P<0.001）。
研究结论：住院患者所承担的非传染性疾病负担快速加重，尤以女性与年轻人群体为甚。中国东部沿海地区观测到的非传染性疾病谱，可为正处于经济转型阶段的地区制定疾病预防指南提供可靠的证据支持。