What is the all‑cause hospital admission rate among working‑age adults (15–64 years) in the United Kingdom?

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All-Cause Hospital Admission Rates in Working-Age Adults in the UK

The available evidence does not provide a comprehensive all-cause hospital admission rate specifically for working-age adults (15-64 years) in the UK, but data from specific disease categories and age groups can provide partial insights into this population's hospital utilization patterns.

Available Data on Hospital Admissions for Working-Age Adults

Infectious and Parasitic Diseases

  • Working-age adults (15-59 years) accounted for 27.9% of all infectious and parasitic disease hospital admissions between 1999-2019 1
  • The overall hospital admission rate for infectious diseases increased dramatically from 290.25 per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 1,305.88 per 100,000 persons in 2019, representing a 349.9% increase 1
  • The most common causes were intestinal infectious diseases (33.6%), other bacterial diseases (27.5%), and other viral diseases (23.8%) 1

COPD-Specific Data for Working-Age Population

  • For COPD alone, there were 20,160 consultant episodes among patients aged 15-59 years in England and Wales during 2002/2003 2
  • COPD accounts for up to 1 in 8 emergency hospital admissions overall 2
  • Among COPD patients, 44% were below retirement age, with 24% completely prevented from working and an additional 9% limited in their ability to work 2

Mental and Behavioral Disorders

  • The 15-59 years age group accounted for 65.1% of all mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorder hospital admissions between 1999-2019 3
  • Mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use were the most common type, accounting for 26.6% of admissions 3

General Hospital Admission Patterns

Community-Dwelling Adults (59-73 years)

  • In a cohort of community-dwelling adults aged 59-73 years, hospital admission rates were 391 per 1,000 person-years among men and 327 per 1,000 person-years among women 4
  • 75% of men and 69% of women in this age group were admitted to hospital at least once during the study period 4
  • 48% of those ever admitted had experienced an emergency admission 4

Important Caveats

The evidence base has significant limitations for answering this specific question:

  • Most available data focuses on specific disease categories (COPD, infectious diseases, mental health) rather than all-cause admissions 2, 1, 3
  • Age categorizations in the available studies do not align perfectly with the working-age definition of 15-64 years 1, 3, 4
  • The most comprehensive data available is disease-specific rather than population-based for all causes 2

Based on the partial data available, working-age adults represent a substantial proportion of hospital admissions in the UK, with infectious diseases, mental health conditions, and chronic respiratory diseases being major contributors to admission rates in this population.

References

2
Guideline

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Dr.Oracle Medical Advisory Board & Editors, 2025

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This information is intended for healthcare professionals. Any medical decision-making should rely on clinical judgment and independently verified information. The content provided herein does not replace professional discretion and should be considered supplementary to established clinical guidelines. Healthcare providers should verify all information against primary literature and current practice standards before application in patient care. Dr.Oracle assumes no liability for clinical decisions based on this content.

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