17th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 18-20, 2018 • Denver, CO

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3/20/2018 | 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Co-Occurrence of Hearing Loss and Mental Disorders among Privately Insured Children in the United States | Capitol 1

Co-Occurrence of Hearing Loss and Mental Disorders among Privately Insured Children in the United States

Deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children are at risk for problems with cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and motor development. The prevalence of mental health problems among D/HH children is 2–4 times higher than in children without hearing loss (HL). Early identification of co-occurring mental disorders with HL is important for care management. The objective of this study was to assess demographic characteristics and the co-occurrence of mental disorders among privately insured U.S. children diagnosed with HL. Data from the Truven Health MarketScan® Commercial Databases 2012–2014 was used. Children aged 3–17 years who were diagnosed with HL with or without a co-occurring mental disorder were included. HL was defined as two separate medical claims with a hearing loss code, or one medical claim with a hearing aid or cochlear implant procedure/service code. Among children diagnosed with HL, the co-occurrence of a mental disorder (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder (ODD/CD); depression; anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); tic disorder) was assessed by identifying children with two or more outpatient claims or one inpatient claim with a diagnosis code for a mental disorder. Among the 128,389 children with HL, 1 in 6 (16.7%) had a diagnosed mental disorder. Children with both HL and at least one mental disorder were older compared to children with HL and no mental disorder (9.8 ± 3.6 versus 8.4 ± 4.2 years). Among those with HL, 14,876 (11.6%) had ADHD, 8,250 (6.4%) had depression, 3,755 (2.9%) had anxiety, OCD or PTSD, 3,276 (2.6%) had ODD/CD, and 995 (0.8%) had a tic disorder. Children with multiple disabilities face unique challenges. Understanding the communication needs and characteristics of these children may help providers and caregivers recognize the symptoms and provide appropriate treatment and support.

Summarize the co-occurrence of hearing loss and mental disorders among privately insured children using individual-level claims data.
Compare demographic characteristics of deaf and hard of hearing children, children with mental disorders, and deaf and hard of hearing children with mental disorders.
Describe the strengths and limitations of using administrative data and how it can support national and statewide EHDI efforts.

Presentation:
15805_7828ThuyQuynhDo.pdf

Handouts:
Handout is not Available

Transcripts:
15805_7828ThuyQuynhDo.doc

Presenters/Authors

ThuyQuynh Do (), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ThuyQuynhDo@cdc.gov;
Dr. Quynh Do is a Health Services Researcher on the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities in the Division of Human Development and Disability. She received her PhD in Sociomedical Sciences from the University of Texas Medical Branch and Master of Public Health from the Virginia Commonwealth University. She works on the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Team. Prior to CDC, Quynh worked as public health consultant in a wide range of areas including program management and support, research and evaluation, health promotion and marketing, database administration, survey development, technical writing, and technical assistance in minority health, occupational health, substance abuse and mental health, maternal/child health, and women’s health issues.