Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of study population (n = 2289)
| Study population (n = 2289) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Patient Characteristics | ||
| Sex | male n (%) | 1089 (47.6) |
| Age (group) | years, mean, (sd) | 59 (18.5) |
| 0–18 years, n (%) | 71 (3.1) | |
| 19–70 years, n (%) | 1511 (66.0) | |
| 71–100 years, n (%) | 707 (30.9) | |
| Housing | independent, n (%) | 2048 (89.5) |
| home care, n (%) | 212 (9.3) | |
| institution, n (%) | 29 (1.2) | |
| Education | primary and below, n (%) | 134 (5.8) |
| lower secondary, n (%) | 618 (27.0) | |
| upper secondary, n (%) | 684 (29.9) | |
| advanced education, n (%) | 735 (32.1) | |
| missing, n (%) | 118 (5.2) | |
| Health literacy | adequate, n (%) | 1847 (80.7) |
| sub-optimal, n (%) | 340 (14.8) | |
| insufficient, n (%) | 95 (4.2) | |
| missing, n (%) | 7 (0.3) | |
| Independent use of medication | independent, n (%) | 1838 (80.3) |
| Patient known at visited outpatient clinic |
yes, n (%) no, n (% |
1693 (74.0) 596 (26.0) |
| Medication use characteristics | ||
| Use of any prescribed medication | yes, n (%) | 2044 (89.2) |
| Number of medications, excluding OTCa |
mean (SD) 0–4, n (%) |
5.9 (4.7) 1036 (45.3) |
| 5–10, n (%) | 856 (37.4) | |
| > 10, n (%) | 397 (17.3) | |
| Use of OTC medication | yes, n (%) | 1409 (61.6) |
| Use of high risk medicationb | yes, n (%) | 1691 (73.9) |
| Utilization of healthcare services in the previous 12 months | ||
| Visits to outpatient clinics |
0, n (%) 1, n (%) 2–5, n (%) |
393 (17.1) 331 (14.5) 803 (35.1) |
| > 5, n (%) | 762 (33.3) | |
| Hospitalization | yes, n (%) | 714 (31.2) |
| Emergency admission | yes, n (%) | 762 (33.2) |
| Multiple specialties involved | yes, n (%) | 1836 (80.2) |
a number of medications established during MR (without OTC = over-the-counter)b additional file 3 displays medication classified as high risk medication