Brief Report: Impact of COVID-19 in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Analysis of a National Private Claims Insurance Database

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a detrimental impact on individuals with disabilities. Data from FAIR Health’s FH® NPIC (National Private Insurance Claims) database, one of the nation’s largest databases of private insurance claim records, were analyzed to understand the experiences of individuals with ASD in the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariate logistic regression models revealed that individuals with ASD + ID were nine times more likely to be hospitalized following COVID-19 infection (OR = 9.3; 95% CI: 6.9–12.5) and were nearly six times more likely to have an elevated length of hospital stay (OR = 5.9; 95% CI: 3.5–10.1) compared to those without ASD + ID. These findings point to the need for prioritizing access to vaccines to prevent COVID-19 infection and morbidities. This is the first study to illustrate a higher likelihood of hospitalization and elevated length of hospital stay from COVID-19 in individuals with ASD and other comorbidities.