Millennials are racking up more chronic health conditions compared to other generations: study

health

Angelica Stabile, Fox News

March 10, 2023 | 12:10 PM

Millennials are seeking professional help with their health issues more than ever, new research reveals.

Practitioner United Healthcare and Health Action Council, The study examined factors and claims data for policyholders aged 27 to 42 (126,000 in total).

We compared current data from April 2021 to March 2022 with historical data going back to 2012. The findings were published in the group’s sixth annual white paper.

Research reveals that millennials and their children with common chronic conditions are “higher users” of the healthcare system compared to Gen Xers.

This included a 106% increase in hospitalizations among millennials with diabetes and a 55% increase in emergency room (ER) and urgent care (UC) visits for hypertension.

Obesity rates are lower among millennials, but ER and UC visits are up 31%, and hospitalizations for obese people are up 29%.

Millennials with back problems have 22% more ER and UC visits and 46% higher hospitalization rates than Gen Xers.

ER and UC visits are 36% higher among millennials with osteoarthritis.

Compared to pre-pandemic levels, there is a 35% increase in behavioral health use among millennials and their children.

This includes anxiety disorders, depression and trauma disorders, which account for 66% of generational behavioral diagnoses.

In 2019, 31% of PTSD diagnoses were given to millennials. In 2022, that number has increased to 38% of his.

Additionally, studies show that millennials and their children account for 41% of claims for neurodevelopmental disorders.

The most common diagnoses include Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in 43% and Autism Spectrum Disorder in 35%.

Pregnancy is the number one driver of health care costs for millennials as health care costs continue to rise.

These costs are increased by complications such as fertility treatments, high-risk pregnancies, multiple births, caesarean deliveries, and lengthy hospital stays.

Millennial parents with Generation Alpha children have 38% higher healthcare utilization rates than children born in other generations.

This included 22% higher ER visits, 9% higher UC visits, and 76% higher ambulatory surgeries.

Millennial parents of Generation Alpha children are a whopping 543% more likely to schedule a virtual health visit than any other generation.

Millennials are ‘breaking the stigma,’ according to experts

“We are not surprised by these findings,” Dr. Mykale Elbe, director of the MSN Nurse Practitioner Program and assistant professor at the University of Maryville in Town and Country, Missouri, told Fox News Digital. She was not involved in her research.

Herbe noted that millennials and younger generations are “breaking down the stigma” when it comes to mental health, which has led to more symptom recognition and help being sought from health care providers.

“Since the pandemic, health care providers in all settings have witnessed a surge in patients seeking help with mental health disorders,” she said.

She added, “We’re hopeful that this surge will diminish as we head into the post-pandemic period, but we haven’t seen that yet.”

Herbe attributes the increase in healthcare uptake to the recent emergence of accessible medical facilities, including emergency care, over the past decade.

“This will make medical care immediately available to the public for everything from sore throats and lacerations to more serious concerns,” she said.

“Pandemic and [with] While everyone is on high alert for upper respiratory symptoms, training the public that if they have a cough they should be tested for COVID has led to a surge in healthcare access for minor disabilities. We continue,” Herve added.

From her experience working in pediatrics, Herve said more parents are bringing their children in because of viral upper respiratory infections than they were before the pandemic.

“The availability of new forms of health care with emergency care and convenient clinics has made patients more willing to access and seek care on a regular basis,” she said. I was.

Elbe expressed shock at the significant increase in hospitalizations for diabetes, which is consistent with other millennials’ healthcare use.

“The cost of diabetes care is higher, but diabetes is managed better than older people,” she said. “They are younger, generally healthier, and more active than older people with diabetes. It makes sense because there is.”

Overall, Herve said he was concerned about millennial healthcare usage and costs, as well as issues around provider shortages.

“This shortage has resulted in longer waiting times for patients to see their healthcare providers,” she said.