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32 Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: Phenotypic Presentation, Comorbidity Risk, and Medical Service Utilization in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2024

Rachael E. Bishop
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Jane R. Schubart
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Susan E. Mills
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is a heritable connective tissue disorder with no known genetic etiology. Its complex phenotypic presentation with multi-system involvement delays proper diagnosis and treatment, especially for females. This study examines the risk for common hEDS comorbidities and medical service utilization. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Electronic health records from over 150 million patients across 92 American healthcare servers were queried using the TriNetX database to determine phenotypic presentation of hEDS and risk of receiving comorbid diagnoses. Contingency tables were created with hEDS as the condition and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or gastroparesis as the grouping variables. Advanced analytics were conducted to compare outcomes of two cohorts: (1) patients diagnosed with hEDS and both POTS and gastroparesis, and (2) patients with a sole diagnosis of hEDS. After propensity score matching, differences in medical service utilization and mental health diagnoses were assessed between these two cohorts. All analyses restricted age (12-70 years) and employed established exclusion criteria (e.g., diabetes). RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: TriNetX national health records (N = 1,968) reveal that hEDS predominantly affects females (87%) and is diagnosed at a mean of 35 years of age. People diagnosed with hEDS have a high prevalence of comorbid nervous system (81%), mental health (76%), and digestive system (69%) disorders. They are 29.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with POTS [95% CI: 27.1, 32.6] and 66.3 times more likely to be diagnosed with gastroparesis [95% CI: 56.5, 77.9], compared to people without hEDS. After propensity score matching for sex, race, and ethnicity, people diagnosed with hEDS and both POTS and gastroparesis have significantly greater service utilization (72.2% vs. 56.7%; z = 2.18, p < .05) but not a greater incidence of mental health disorders (34.4% vs. 24.4%; z = 1.47, p = .14) than people diagnosed with hEDS alone. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This study reveals the phenotypic presentation of hEDS and the elevated risk of co-occurring POTS and/or gastroparesis diagnosis. hEDS and its comorbidities are associated with more frequent medical encounters but not with a greater incidence of mental illness. Findings have implications for both clinical practice guidelines and further research.

Type
Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science