Table 2.
Patient Characteristics Variables and Descriptive Statistics
| Variable | Count (%) n=1,316 |
|---|---|
| Dependent | |
| Diagnosis at death or same month as death | 334 (25.4) |
| Received any pain medication in month of or month after cancer diagnosis | 794 (60.3) |
| Explanatory/control | |
| Age (years) | |
| 66–70 (referent) | 78 (5.9) |
| 71–75 | 160 (12.2) |
| 76–80 | 226 (17.2) |
| 81–85 | 333 (25.3) |
| ≥86 | 519 (39.4) |
| Race | |
| White (referent) | 1,022 (77.7) |
| African American/other | 294 (22.3) |
| Sex | |
| Male (referent) | 438 (33.3) |
| Female | 878 (66.7) |
| Alzheimer's disease | 376 (28.6) |
| Stayed 31–90 days before diagnosis | 105 (8.0) |
| Cancer sites | |
| Breast | 209 (15.9) |
| Colorectal | 219 (16.6) |
| Lung | 188 (14.3) |
| Prostate | 128 (9.7) |
| Other gastrointestinal | 59 (4.5) |
| Pancreas | 48 (3.7) |
| Urinary bladder | 51 (3.9) |
| Leukemias | 41 (3.1) |
| Other (referent) | 373 (28.3) |
| Hospice | 20 (1.52) |
| Late stage or unstaged at diagnosis | 973 (73.9) |