Table 1.
Patients' Characteristics: Random Sample of 1,002 Adults Aged 50–80 Years in All Swiss University Primary Care Settings
| Characteristic | |
|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 63.5 (8.3) |
| Range, minimum – maximum | 50–80 |
| Women, no. (%) | 445 (44.4) |
| Civil status, no. (%) | |
| Married | 506 (51.0) |
| Divorced, separated | 233 (23.5) |
| Single | 151 (15.2) |
| Widow/-er | 103 (10.4) |
| Occupation, no. (%) | |
| Retired | 372 (37.9) |
| Employed | 285 (29.0) |
| At home or in education | 115 (11.7) |
| Social aid | 109 (11.1) |
| Unemployed or other | 101 (10.3) |
| Number of outpatient visits over 2 years | |
| Median (interquartile range) | 10 (7–15) |
| Range, minimum – maximum | 2–63 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |
| Hypertension*, no. (%) | 753 (75.2) |
| Dyslipidemia*, no. (%) | 622 (62.1) |
| Diabetes*, no. (%) | 292 (29.1) |
| Family history of early CHD†, no. (%) | 99 (9.9) |
| Smoking status at baseline‡, no. (%) | |
| Former smokers | 177 (17.7) |
| Current smokers | 230 (23.0) |
| Comorbid conditions | |
| Cardiovascular disease§, no. (%) | 364 (36.3) |
| Chronic pulmonary disease‖, no. (%) | 201 (20.1) |
| Non-metastatic solid cancer¶, no. (%) | 133 (13.3) |
| Metastatic solid cancer, no. (%) | 16 (1.6) |
| Hematological cancer, no. (%) | 10 (1.0) |
| Dementia, no. (%) | 24 (2.4) |
| Psychiatric disorders#, no. (%) | 287 (28.6) |
*For criteria of dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes, see Appendix Table 2 (available online)
†Early coronary heart disease (CHD) defined as a CHD event in male relatives <55 years or in female relatives <65 years
‡Smoking status defined as: former smoker = stopped smoking ≥6 months before baseline; current smoker = smoking at baseline or stopped <6 months before baseline
§History of transient ischemic attack, cerebral vascular accident, coronary artery disease, angina, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure or peripheral vascular disease
‖Classification based on Charlson index37: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, sleep apnea syndrome, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension, bronchiectases, interstitial pulmonary disease or global respiratory insufficiency
¶Includes prostate, colorectal, breast, lung, kidney, urothelial, gynecological and other types of cancer in the last 5 years
#Classification based on Charlson index37: depression, psychotic disorder and bipolar disorder