Table 2.
Distribution of clinical and healthcare characteristics of patients diagnosed with lung cancer between 2012 and 2018, by stage at diagnosis
| Stage I | Stage II | Stage III | Stage IV | Early (Stages I or II) | Advanced (Stages III or IV) | Missing | All patients | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung cancer patients | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | % | % | n | % | p-valuea | N | % |
| Number of physical morbidities | <0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | 238 | 24.8 | 111 | 23.0 | 418 | 32.0 | 1,231 | 36.6 | 24.2 | 35.3 | 235 | 32.8 | 2233 | 32.7 | |
| 1 | 263 | 27.4 | 140 | 29.0 | 383 | 29.3 | 1,012 | 30.1 | 28.0 | 29.9 | 219 | 30.6 | 2017 | 29.5 | |
| 2 | 199 | 20.8 | 114 | 23.7 | 266 | 20.4 | 641 | 19.0 | 21.7 | 19.4 | 150 | 20.9 | 1370 | 20.1 | |
| 3+ | 259 | 27.0 | 117 | 24.3 | 239 | 18.3 | 481 | 14.3 | 26.1 | 15.4 | 112 | 15.6 | 1208 | 17.7 | |
| Number of mental health morbidities | <0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| 0 | 641 | 66.8 | 344 | 71.4 | 918 | 70.3 | 2,523 | 75.0 | 68.4 | 73.7 | 520 | 72.6 | 4,946 | 72.4 | |
| 1 | 169 | 17.6 | 85 | 17.6 | 258 | 19.8 | 644 | 19.1 | 17.6 | 19.3 | 155 | 21.6 | 1,311 | 19.2 | |
| 2+ | 149 | 15.5 | 53 | 11.0 | 130 | 10.0 | 198 | 5.9 | 14.0 | 7.0 | 41 | 5.7 | 571 | 8.4 | |
| Number of GP consultations 30 days to 2 years prior to cancer diagnosis | <0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| 0-9 | 65 | 6.8 | 34 | 7.1 | 139 | 10.6 | 436 | 13.0 | 6.9 | 12.3 | 55 | 7.7 | 729 | 10.7 | |
| 10-19 | 318 | 33.2 | 203 | 42.1 | 602 | 46.1 | 1468 | 43.6 | 36.2 | 44.3 | 249 | 34.8 | 2840 | 41.6 | |
| 20+ | 576 | 60.1 | 245 | 50.8 | 565 | 43.3 | 1461 | 43.4 | 57.0 | 43.4 | 412 | 57.5 | 3259 | 47.7 | |
| Haemoptysis | 0.11 | ||||||||||||||
| No | 930 | 97.0 | 461 | 95.6 | 1260 | 96.5 | 3286 | 97.7 | 96.5 | 97.3 | 691 | 96.5 | 6628 | 97.1 | |
| Yes | 29 | 3.0 | 21 | 4.4 | 46 | 3.5 | 79 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 25 | 3.5 | 200 | 2.9 | |
| Cough or Dyspnoea | <0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| No | 357 | 37.2 | 189 | 39.2 | 568 | 43.5 | 1665 | 49.5 | 37.9 | 47.8 | 312 | 43.6 | 3091 | 45.3 | |
| Yes | 602 | 62.8 | 293 | 60.8 | 738 | 56.5 | 1700 | 50.5 | 62.1 | 52.2 | 404 | 56.4 | 3737 | 54.7 | |
| Fatigue or Weight loss | 0.11 | ||||||||||||||
| No | 846 | 88.2 | 422 | 87.6 | 1156 | 88.5 | 3024 | 89.9 | 88.0 | 89.5 | 641 | 89.5 | 6089 | 89.2 | |
| Yes | 113 | 11.8 | 60 | 12.4 | 150 | 11.5 | 341 | 10.1 | 12.0 | 10.5 | 75 | 10.5 | 739 | 10.8 | |
| Anaemia (blood test confirmed) | 0.06 | ||||||||||||||
| No | 715 | 74.6 | 373 | 77.4 | 1007 | 77.1 | 2630 | 78.2 | 75.5 | 77.9 | 452 | 63.1 | 5177 | 75.8 | |
| Yes | 244 | 25.4 | 109 | 22.6 | 299 | 22.9 | 735 | 21.8 | 24.5 | 22.1 | 264 | 36.9 | 1651 | 24.2 | |
| Total by stage | 959 | 14 | 482 | 7.1 | 1306 | 19.1 | 3365 | 49.3 | 21.1 | 68.4 | 716 | 10.5 | 6828 | 100.0 | |
aPearson’s Chi-squared test (two-sided), limiting to those with complete stage information, was used to test for an association between each listed characteristic and stage at diagnosis (p = <0.05).