Table 3.
Univariate associations with emergency department (ED) use and frequent use over the past year
| No ED visit
N (%) |
At least 1 visit
N (%) |
OR (95%CI) visit versus no visit | ≥4 visits
N (%) |
OR (95% CI) ≥4 visits versus no visits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socio-demographic variables | |||||
| Gender | |||||
| -male | 3270(25.6) | 144(16.8) | OR Reference | 31(15.5) | OR Reference |
| -female | 9509(74.4) | 715(83.2) | 1.9 (1.6, 2.3) | 169(84.5) | 2.0 (1.4, 3.0) |
| Age | |||||
| <19 | 17(0.1) | 2(0.2) | OR Reference | 1(0.5) | OR Reference |
| 19 – 30 | 1670(13.1) | 132(15.4) | 0.9 (0.2, 3.7) | 35(17.5) | 0.5 (0.1, 3.5) |
| 31-40 | 2641(20.7) | 198(23.1) | 0.9 (0.2, 3.6) | 44(22.0) | 0.4 (0.1, 2.8) |
| 41-50 | 3475(27.2) | 270(31.4) | 0.8 (0.2, 3.5) | 57(28.5) | 0.4 (0.1, 2.6) |
| 51-65 | 3678(28.8) | 221(25.7) | 0.6 (0.1, 2.5) | 53(26.5) | 0.3 (0.0, 2.1) |
| >65 | 1298(10.2) | 36(4.2) | 0.2 (0.1, 0.9) | 10(5.0) | 0.1 (0.0, 1.0) |
| Health insurance | |||||
| - No | 1871(15.4) | 144(17.3) | OR Reference | 37(19.2) | OR Reference |
| -Yes | 10280(84.6) | 686(82.7) | 0.9 (0.8, 1.1) | 156(80.8) | 0.8 (0.6, 1.2) |
| Income | |||||
| <$22,500 | 2798(22.1) | 178(46.4) | 5.0(3.4, 7.4) | 69(54.8) | 12.1(4.9,29.9) |
| $22,500-39,999 | 2547(20.1) | 82(21.4) | 2.5(1.7, 3.9) | 26(20.6) | 5.0(1.9,13.0) |
| $40,000-59,999 | 2457(19.4) | 43(11.2) | 1.4(0.9, 2.2) | 12(9.5) | 2.4(0.8, 6.8) |
| $60,000-89,999 | 2422(19.1) | 50(13.0) | 1.6(1.0, 2.6) | 14(11.1) | 2.8(1.0, 7.9) |
| $90,000+ | 2445(19.3) | 31(8.1) | OR Reference | 5(4.0) | OR Reference |
| Headache specific variables | |||||
| MIDAS headache disability score | |||||
| 0-5 | 7150(58.5) | 254(31.2) | OR Reference | 34(18.5) | OR Reference |
| 6-10 | 2022(16.5) | 143(17.6) | 1.9 (1.6, 2.4) | 32(17.4) | 3.2 (2.0, 5.2) |
| 11-20 | 1603(13.1) | 161(19.8) | 2.8 (2.3, 3.4) | 39(21.2) | 4.8 (3.0, 7.7) |
| >20 | 1447(11.8) | 256(31.4) | 4.5 (3.8, 5.4) | 79(42.9) | 9.8 (6.5, 14.6) |
| Acute medication use | |||||
| -OTC only | 7763(65.6) | 222(27.0) | OR Reference | 38(20.1) | OR Reference |
| -Opiate, prescription NSAID | 1413(11.9) | 181(22.0) | 5.6 (4.4, 7.1) | 43(22.8) | 9.24(5.8,14.7) |
| -Triptan or DHE | 2015(17.0) | 303(36.9) | 4.1 (3.3, 5.0) | 73(38.6) | 5.4 (3.5, 8.4) |
| -Prescription other | 635(5.4) | 115(14.0) | 4.6 (3.8, 5.4) | 35(18.5) | 6.0 (4.1, 8.9) |
| Preventative medication | |||||
| -None | 6084(90.8) | 344(74.6) | OR Reference | 75(67.0) | OR Reference |
| -Any | 617(9.2) | 117(25.4) | 2.8 (2.2, 3.5) | 37(33.0) | 3.9 (2.6, 5.8) |
| Health professional seen most often for headache | |||||
| -None | 167(2.2) | 11(1.4) | OR Reference | 3(1.6) | OR Reference |
| -Primary care | 4115(55.2) | 264(33.6) | 1.0(0.6, 1.9) | 35(18.9) | 0.5 (0.2, 1.6) |
| - Headache specialist | 600(8.1) | 85(10.8) | 2.0 (1.0, 3.7) | 21(11.4) | 1.7 (0.5, 5.8) |
| Other healthcare variables | |||||
| Depression screener (PHQ9) | |||||
| Normal | 6168(48.3) | 214(24.9) | OR Reference | 41(20.5) | OR Reference |
| Elevated | 6611(51.7) | 645(75.1) | 2.8 (2.4, 3.3) | 159(79.5) | 3.5 (2.5, 5.0) |
| # of ED/UC visits for non- headache reasons | |||||
| 0 | 8749(80.7) | 283(41.4) | OR Reference | 48(33.8) | OR Reference |
| At least 1 | 2091(19.3) | 400(58.6) | 5.8 (4.9, 6.8) | 94(66.2) | 7.2 (5.1,10.2) |
| >3 | 381(3.5) | 175(25.6) | 12.97(10.5, 16.0) | 58(40.8) | 20.4 (13.8, 30.3) |
Notes: OTC=over the counter medication, NSAID=non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, DHE=dihydroergotamine, PHQ=patient health questionnaire, PHQ>=4 was considered elevated