Table 3.
Outpatient Health Service Utilization Among Adults Overall and Adults with Selected Chronic Diseases by Different Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany Based on the Nationwide Surveys GEDA 2019–2021
| Pandemic Phase | Pre-Pandemic Phase | 1st Pandemic Wave 2020 | Summer Plateau 2020 | 4th Pandemic Wave 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available calendar weeks (wk), year | 14th wk, 2019–9th wk, 2020 | 10th-20th wk, 2020 | 21st-36th wk, 2020 | 26th-52th wk, 2021 | |
| OR [95% CI] | OR [95% CI] | OR [95% CI] | OR [95% CI] | ||
| Visiting a general practitioner in the past 4 weeks | Overall (N=27,967) | reference | 0.82 [0.72–0.92] | 0.84 [0.75–0.94] | 0.95 [0.86–1.06] |
| Hypertension (n=8,449) | reference | 0.75 [0.60–0.93] | 0.85 [0.70–1.05] | 0.85 [0.71–1.02] | |
| Major CVD (n=1,136) | reference | 0.57 [0.32–1.01] | 1.09 [0.63–1.89] | 1.01 [0.60–1.72] | |
| Diabetes (n=2,497) | reference | 0.91 [0.62–1.34] | 1.07 [0.75–1.54] | 0.79 [0.55–1.12] | |
| Visiting a specialist in the past 4 weeks | Overall (N=27,967) | reference | 0.68 [0.60–0.78] | 0.75 [0.66–0.85] | 0.97 [0.87–1.09] |
| Hypertension (n=8,449) | reference | 0.60 [0.48–0.76] | 0.83 [0.68–1.03] | 0.99 [0.82–1.20] | |
| Major CVD (n=1,136) | reference | 0.46 [0.26–0.81] | 0.66 [0.39–1.12] | 0.93 [0.57–1.51] | |
| Diabetes (n=2,497) | reference | 0.51 [0.35–0.76] | 0.78 [0.54–1.13] | 0.82 [0.58–1.15] |
Notes: Major cardiovascular diseases (CVD): any myocardial infarction/stroke or chronic complaints as a result of myocardial infarction/stroke in the last 12 months. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI (confidence intervals) were derived from logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age groups, educational level and federal states, and weighted to the German national population of people aged ≥16 years. Bold figures denote statistical significance at p <0.05 in comparison with pre-pandemic phase.