The Transition to the Adult Health Care System Among Youths With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objective:

The study examined how health care utilization patterns among youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) change as they transition into the adult health care system.

Methods:

Data came from the Clinformatics Data Mart Database, a nationally diverse, clinically rich, private insurance claims database. The analytic sample consisted of youths ages 16 to 23 who were diagnosed as having ASD (N=16,338). Cross-sectional multivariate linear regressions determined whether service usage in home, office or outpatient, inpatient, and emergency department (ED) settings differed by age.

Results:

The proportion of youths with ASD who received services declined with age in each setting except the ED. A similar reduction existed in number of visits to office or outpatient settings and inpatient settings, while home and ED visits remained stable. Service utilization declined faster among youths with co-occurring intellectual disability.

Conclusions:

There is a notable decline in service utilization across multiple settings as youths with ASD transition from pediatric to adult health care.