Table 1.
Sociodemographic characteristics of older adults with multimorbidity by the number of ED visits (n = 28,917)
| Characteristics | Total | No ED visits | ≥ 1 ED visits | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted, n | 9 589 647 | 6 583 984 | 3 005 662 | |
| Unweighted, n | 28 917 | 19 661 | 9 256 | |
| Age (years, mean ± SD) | 68.04 ± 10.66 | 68.09 ± 9.88 | 67.94 ± 10.80 | 0.339 |
| 50–64 | 40.03 | 39.01 | 42.25 | < 0.001 |
| ≥65 | 59.97 | 60.99 | 57.75 | |
| Sex (%) | 0.001 | |||
| Female | 56.82 | 56.04 | 58.53 | |
| Male | 43.18 | 43.96 | 41.47 | |
| Marital status (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Not married | 58.70 | 55.96 | 64.69 | |
| Race/ethnicity (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 76.44 | 77.90 | 73.25 | |
| Hispanic | 7.50 | 7.16 | 8.22 | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 12.79 | 11.42 | 15.81 | |
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 2.41 | 2.73 | 1.69 | |
| Other races | 0.87 | 0.79 | 1.03 | |
| Education (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| ≥ Bachelor’s degree | 22.18 | 24.00 | 18.19 | |
| Some college | 28.89 | 29.18 | 28.25 | |
| ≤ High school | 48.93 | 46.82 | 53.55 | |
| Poverty-income ratio (PIR) * (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| PIR ≥ 2.00 | 59.08 | 63.20 | 50.05 | |
| PIR 1-1.99 | 24.71 | 23.34 | 27.70 | |
| PIR < 1 | 16.21 | 13.46 | 22.25 | |
| Employment status (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Unemployed | 70.79 | 67.93 | 77.08 | |
| Health insurance status (%) | 0.934 | |||
| Uninsured | 4.31 | 4.30 | 4.33 | |
| Have usual place for medical care (%) | 97.22 | 96.95 | 97.82 | < 0.001 |
| Region of residence (%) | ||||
| Northeast | 17.20 | 17.1 | 17.44 | 0.007 |
| Midwest | 24.36 | 23.85 | 25.50 | |
| South | 39.39 | 39.43 | 39.30 | |
| West | 19.04 | 19.63 | 17.76 | |
| Perceived health status (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Excellent | 6.81 | 8.27 | 3.61 | |
| Very Good | 21.39 | 24.77 | 14.00 | |
| Good | 35.27 | 37.25 | 30.94 | |
| Fair | 25.35 | 22.20 | 32.24 | |
| Poor | 11.18 | 7.51 | 19.21 | |
| Chronic conditions (%) | ||||
| Diabetes | 36.76 | 35.79 | 38.89 | < 0.001 |
| Hypertension | 82.96 | 83.05 | 82.75 | 0.568 |
| Asthma | 25.36 | 23.95 | 28.42 | < 0.001 |
| Stroke | 12.55 | 10.23 | 17.63 | < 0.001 |
| Cancer | 31.54 | 32.05 | 30.44 | 0.022 |
| Arthritis | 16.88 | 14.47 | 22.15 | < 0.001 |
| COPD† | 28.8 | 24.86 | 37.44 | < 0.001 |
| Heart disease‡ | 43.13 | 39.10 | 51.95 | < 0.001 |
| Weak/failing kidneys in 12 m | 8.22 | 6.21 | 12.64 | < 0.001 |
| Any liver conditions | 3.86 | 3.24 | 5.19 | < 0.001 |
|
Number of chronic conditions (mean ± SD) |
2.90 ± 1.18 | 2.73 ± 0.99 | 3.27 ± 1.31 | < 0.001 |
| 2 | 48.27 | 54.30 | 48.27 | <0.001 |
| 3–4 | 42.09 | 39.37 | 42.09 | |
| ≥ 5 | 9.65 | 6.33 | 9.65 | |
SD, standard deviation; ED, emergency department; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Weighted sample demographic and characteristics were presented and used for inferential statistics. *PIR < 1 = below poverty level; PIR 1-1.99 = between 100-199% above poverty level; PIR ≥ 2 = 200% or above poverty level. †COPD is defined as ever being told they had COPD, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis. ‡Heart disease is defined as ever being told they had coronary heart disease, heart attack, or other heart condition/disease