Longitudinal trends in aphasia in the United States

Purpose: Few studies have used national data to characterize the occurrence of aphasia in the U.S. The purpose of this project was to use national hospital discharge data to examine the number and characteristics of patients discharged from U.S. hospitals with a diagnosis of aphasia. Methods: We examined data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) (1997-2006) using ICD-9 codes for aphasia to identify the number and demographic characteristics of patients with aphasia. Results: Between 1997 and 2006 the number of individuals with aphasia was approximately 100,000 per year. During the 10-year period, the majority of individuals with aphasia were 65 years of age and older, female. had Medicare as a primary payer source and resided in the South. Conclusions: The occurrence of aphasia and demographic characteristics of individuals with aphasia has been generally consistent in the U.S. from 1997 to 2006. Future studies are needed to quantify direct and indirect costs of treating individuals with aphasia as well as other factors that determine the true impact of aphasia and other neurologically based disorders of communication.