Table 1.

Descriptive Characteristics of Sample Population^*

		Age at Death (%)				Gender (%)
Variable	All Ages (%) (n=6,657)	68−74 (n=5,431)	75−84 (n=6,211)	85+ (1,478)	p-value	Women (n=5,594)	Men (n=7,526)	p-value
% Female	42.6	41.5	42.7	46.9	0.001	—	—	—
% Black	7.3	7.7	7.0	7.2	0.344	6.7	7.7	0.024
Area Income (%)					<.001			<.001
<$20,000	19.9	20.8	19.1	20.6		17.4	21.7
$20,000-$35,000	55.4	56.3	55.7	51.1		55.5	55.4
>$35,000	24.7	23.1	25.2	28.3		27.2	22.8
% Medicaid	13.2	13.9	12.8	12.8	0.209	17.4	10.1	<.001
Region (%)					<.001			<.001
Urban	72.1	70.7	72.6	75.6		75.3	69.8
Non-Urban Metropolitan	12.1	12.0	12.5	11.0		11.6	12.6
Rural	15.8	17.3	15.0	13.3		13.2	17.7
Mean Illness Duration†	10.1	10.6	10.1	8.6	<.001	10.3	10.0	0.069
(+/− SD)	(10.1)	(10.1)	(10.2)	(9.6)		(10.2)	(10.1)
Mean Comorbidities‡	2.3	2.2	2.4	2.3	<.001	2.2	2.4	<.001
(+/− SD)	(1.5)	(1.5)	(2.4)	(1.5)		(1.5)	(1.5)

Source: 5% sample, Medicare Denominator Files, 1996−1999; 1990 Census; 1999 Area Resource File.

^*All characteristics reflect population in last year of life.

^†Duration measured in months.

^‡Range: 0−14.