Lyme disease is the most typical tick-borne infection in the United States.
Medical diagnoses increased 65% in metropolitan areas.
Over the last 15 years, Lyme disease has actually seen a visible increase in the United States, and as a consequence, it has elevated to an issue of increasing nationwide issue. Personal insurance coverage claim lines for Lyme disease diagnosis increased 357 percent in rural areas and 65 percent in metropolitan areas in between 2007 and 2021. These and other discoveries on this bacterial disease spread out by ticks are displayed in an infographic recently released by FAIR Health.
The 15-year analysis of Lyme illness was carried out by the nationwide, independent not-for-profit using its database of over 36 billion independently billed healthcare claims; this research study expands upon a previous FAIR Health infographic that looked at 10 years worth of Lyme disease data.
Private insurance coverage claim lines with a Lyme disease diagnosis in the United States. Credit: fairhealth.org
The distinction between urban and rural locations
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of claim lines with Lyme illness detects climbed up by 60% in rural areas and 19% in metropolitan locations, with diagnoses peaking nationwide in June and July of each year. From November through April, claim lines with Lyme illness diagnoses were more typical in metropolitan than rural locations.
Geographical Distribution
In 2017, the states with the greatest percentage of claim lines with Lyme illness diagnoses as a percentage of all medical diagnoses in the state, from highest to most affordable, were New Jersey, Connecticut, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Given that Lyme disease has been traditionally connected with the Northeast and upper Midwest, the status of North Carolina as the state with the 3rd greatest percentage of Lyme disease claim lines in 2017 suggested marked growth to a new area. By 2021, however, North Carolina had actually dropped from the list.
The leading states in 2021, from greatest to most affordable, were New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Maine, which was not formerly on the list of leading 5 states for Lyme illness claim lines, assumed third place in 2021, recommending a growing existence of the tick-borne illness in the state. Connecticut and Vermont switched locations, with Vermont becoming number two and Connecticut dropping to number five.
Later Diagnoses
Although Lyme illness is treatable with antibiotics, some Lyme clients later develop conditions with long-term symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle and joint pain and cognitive issues. Such conditions have actually been linked to post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, sometimes called chronic Lyme illness.
To identify later medical diagnoses associated with Lyme disease, FAIR Health examined a statistically substantial accomplice of individuals in its personal insurance coverage declares database from 2017 to 2021, comparing the prevalence of particular diagnoses among Lyme clients to all clients in the associate. The analysis found that medical diagnoses such as malaise and fatigue and soft-tissue-related concerns were more typical amongst Lyme clients than among the overall patient population. Throughout any age groups, patients with Lyme disease were generally more most likely to have actually these obviously associated diagnoses than all patients in the associate.
FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated, “Lyme illness remains a growing public health issue. FAIR Health will continue to use its repository of claims information to provide pertinent and actionable insights to health care stakeholders looking for to much better comprehend the continuous rise of Lyme illness cases.”
This is the third study FAIR Health has actually conducted on Lyme disease, the first appearing in an infographic released in 2017 and the 2nd in a white paper published in 2019..
Provided that Lyme disease has been traditionally associated with the Northeast and upper Midwest, the status of North Carolina as the state with the third highest percentage of Lyme disease claim lines in 2017 suggested marked expansion to a new region. To identify later medical diagnoses associated with Lyme illness, FAIR Health analyzed a statistically substantial friend of individuals in its private insurance coverage declares database from 2017 to 2021, comparing the frequency of certain diagnoses among Lyme patients to all patients in the friend.
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of claim lines with Lyme illness detects climbed up by 60% in rural regions and 19% in city areas, with diagnoses peaking across the country in June and July of each year. Rural places revealed a higher percentage of claim lines related to Lyme illness diagnoses than urban areas throughout the summer months. From November through April, claim lines with Lyme disease diagnoses were more common in urban than rural areas.