Table 1.
Characteristics of individuals, according to their respective ToC type
| Variables | All individuals N = 690 | 1—Low healthcare use n = 377 (54.6%) | 2- High primary care use n = 154 (22.3%) | 3- High overall healthcare use n = 159 (23.0%) | p-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomic | |||||
| Ageb | 80.8 ± 6.7 | 81.7 ± 6.6 | 80.6 ± 6.6 | 79.2 ± 6.8 | 0.0004 |
| Sex (female) | 435 (63.0) | 247 (65.5) | 111 (72.1) | 77 (48.4) | < .0001 |
| Living alone | 309 (44.8) | 166 (44.0) | 72 (46.8) | 71 (44.7) | 0.8484 |
| Individual annual income more then 20,000$ | 203 (39.3) | 174 (63.3) | 80 (52.0) | 60 (48.8) | 0.0060 |
| Education level Post-secondary or higher | 265 (40.2) | 138 (38.4) | 51 (34.7) | 76 (49.4) | 0.0215 |
| Residential area | |||||
| Metropolitan | 353 (51.2) | 181 (48.0) | 73 (47.4) | 99 (62.3) | 0.0177 |
| Small town | 142 (20.6) | 90 (23.9) | 26 (16.9) | 26 (16.9) | |
| Rural | 195 (28.3) | 106 (28.1) | 55 (35.7) | 34 (21.4) | |
| Perceived health status (Poor/Fair) | 294 (42.7) | 137 (36.4) | 63 (40.9) | 94 (59.1) | < .0001 |
| Health conditions | |||||
| Months since dementia identificationb | 36.9 ± 35.2 | 39.3 ± 34.8 | 35.6 ± 38.2 | 32.3 ± 32.6 | 0.1001 |
| Dementia identified during the index period (yes) | 182 (26.4) | 90 (23.8) | 45 (29.2) | 47 (29.56) | 0.1203 |
| Comorbidity indexb | 3.7 ± 3.4 | 3.3 ± 3.0 | 4.4 ± 3.2 | 7.1 ± 4.4 | < .0001 |
| Comorbidity index | |||||
| 0–3 | 353 (51.2) | 246 (65.3) | 72 (46.8) | 35 (22.0) | < .0001 |
| 4 and over | 337 (48.8) | 131 (34.8) | 82 (53.3) | 124 (78.0) | |
| High blood pressure | 304 (44.1) | 120 (31.8) | 78 (50.7) | 106 (66.7) | < .0001 |
| COPD | 120 (17.4) | 45 (12.0) | 29 (18.8) | 46 (28.9) | < .0001 |
| Diabetes | 138 (20.0) | 58 (15.4) | 31 (20.1) | 49 (30.8) | 0.0002 |
| Heart disease | 225 (32.61) | 74 (19.6) | 54 (35.1) | 97 (61.0) | < .0001 |
| Cancer | 40 (5.8) | Less than 15 | Less than 15 | 25 (15.7) | < .0001 |
| Common mental-health disorder | 155 (22.5) | 50 (13.3) | 44 (28.6) | 61 (38.4) | < .0001 |
| Severe mental-health disorder | 76 (11.0) | 21 (5.6) | 19 (12.3) | 36 (22.6) | < .0001 |
| Healthcare use | |||||
| Regular primary care provider | 508 (95.9) | 269 (94.4) | 116 (95.9) | 123 (99.2) | 0.0813 |
| Primary care provider continuity of careb | 0.90 ± 0.18 | 0.914 ± 0.164 | 0.89 ± 0.19 | 0.869 ± 0.201 | 0.0309 |
| Death within 2 years after index date | 80 (11.6) | 34 (9.0) | Less than 15 | 33 (20.8) | 0.0002 |
| Long-term care admission within 2 years after the index date | 92 (13.33) | 53 (14.06) | 20 (12.99) | 19 (11.95) | 0.7982 |
| Medication | |||||
| Average number of monthly medicationsb | 12.1 ± 6.7 | 11.8 ± 5.8 | 16.0 ± 7.46 | 21.4 ± 8.6 | < .0001 |
| Benzodiazepine | 276 (42.1) | 127 (35.8) | 70 (46.7) | 79 (52.7) | 0.0009 |
| Anticholinergic | 478 (73.0) | 231 (65.1) | 111 (74.0) | 136 (90.7) | < .0001 |
| Antipsychotic | 145 (22.1) | 7 (21.7) | 31 (20.7) | 37 (24.7) | 0.6750 |
| Opioid | 115 (17.6) | 38 (10.7) | 28 (18.7) | 49 (32.7) | < .0001 |
Abbreviations: COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, SD standard deviation
a Differences between ToC type were tested using ANOVA (continuous variables) and Chi-square test (categorical variables)
b Continuous variable reported using mean ± SD, all other variables are reported using n(%)