COPD Hospital Admissions by County, Age-adjusted Rates, 2018-2022, 2018-2022

Why Is This Important?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that obstructs lung airflow, making it difficult to breathe. It primarily includes two conditions: chronic bronchitis, which involves long-term inflammation of the airways and excessive mucus production, and emphysema, which involves damage to the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs. Symptoms of COPD can include persistent cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest tightness. It is commonly caused by long-term exposure to irritants such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, chemical fumes, and dust. COPD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In 2021, 138,825 people in the United States died from COPD, making it the sixth overall leading cause of death and the fifth disease-related cause of death, behind heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, accidents, and stroke (American Lung Association). According to the American Lung Association, COPD is a leading cause of hospitalization in the United States, with over 335,000 admissions in 2020. In 2020, there were 925,000 COPD emergency department visits, or 279.1 per 100,000.

Definition

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is a chronic lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. A COPD hospitalization has listed as the primary (first-listed) diagnosis of a New Mexico resident as the ICD-9-CM codes 490-492 or 496 or 493.2* when 490-492 or 496 is present on any secondary diagnoses, and, after 10/2015, the ICD-10-CM codes J40-J44. Measures shown include: 1) annual age-adjusted rates for COPD hospitalizations; 2) annual age-adjusted rates for COPD hospitalizations among persons 25 and over; 3) age-adjusted rates for COPD hospitalizations by county; 4) age-adjusted rates for COPD hospitalizations among persons 25 and over by county; and 5) number of COPD hospitalizations by sex for age 25 and over. Rates are per 10,000 population. Age-adjustment by the direct method to the 2000 US standard population.

Data Notes

Data Sources

• New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
  (http://gps.unm.edu/)
• Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data, New Mexico Department of Health.

How the Measure is Calculated

• Numerator:

  Number of adult hospital discharges where COPD is the primary (first-listed) diagnosis.

• Denominator:

  Estimated total number of New Mexico residents in a specified population over a specified time period.

Data Issues

• New Mexico Population Estimates

  {{class RedText NOTE: On January 16, 2025, the NM-IBIS and NMTracking POPULATION ESTIMATES FOR YEARS **2010 THROUGH 2023** WERE REPLACED. Data from the 2020 decennial census were used to update the estimates. Rates calculated using the NM-IBIS and NMTracking web-based queries are affected. Any rates that use population denominators that were calculated after January 16, 2025 will be different from those calculated prior to that date. We apologize for the inconvenience.}} All population estimates apply to July 1 of the selected year. These estimates are considered the most accurate estimates for the state of New Mexico and should match those found on the University of New Mexico [https://gps.unm.edu/pop/population-estimates.html Geospatial and Population Studies website]. Estimates include decimal fractions. Census tract population estimates were summed to produce County estimates. Population estimate totals may vary slightly due to rounding.

• Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data (HIDD)

  The hospital inpatient discharge data include visits to NON-FEDERAL HOSPITALS only. Visits to Veteran's Administration (VA) facilities and Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities have not been included, unless specifically stated otherwise. Results from this query should not be used to make population inferences for New Mexico's American Indian populations. The data include all hospital visits. Persons with multiple hospital visits will be counted multiple times. By default, these query results include records for in-hospital deaths. Users wishing to query only non-fatal hospitalizations should filter the data to include all discharge statuses OTHER than **EXPIRED**. Transfer visits have not been removed from the dataset. Patients who were transferred from one facility to another will have data records at each facility. For inpatient visits with a diagnosis of "childbirth", data records for mothers have been included, but the data records for newborns have excluded from the HIDD queries. The ICD coding system, maintained by the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, is used to classify diagnoses for hospital and emergency department visits. This coding system underwent a major revision from version 9 to version 10 that went into effect October 1, 2015. In most cases, the two versions do not provide comparable results, and the two time periods should not be combined in a single query. The hospital inpatient dataset includes only New Mexico residents hospitalized in New Mexico hospitals and do not include visits for New Mexico residents who visited a hospital in another state. In cases of serious injuries near the state borders, oftentimes patients will be transported to a nearby trauma center in the bordering state.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Hospital Admissions

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease