Table 2.
Adjusted medical use and costs in relation to dyspnea tertile (n = 479).
| Tertile of dyspnea |
p for trend | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Intermediate | High | ||
| No. of participants | 153 | 160 | 166 | |
| IN-PATIENT CARE | ||||
| No. of hospital days (days/month) | ||||
| Crude | 0.81 (0.49–1.13) | 0.70 (0.39–1.02) | 0.30 (−0.01–0.60) | 0.02 |
| Adjusted for age, sex, and BMI | 0.61, (0.07–1.16) | 0.51, (0.00–1.02) | 0.03, (−0.48–0.54)* | 0.01 |
| Multivariate# | 1.72, (0.54–2.91) | 1.73, (0.58–2.89) | 1.12, (−0.05–2.29)*† | <0.01 |
| Medical cost (dollars/month) | ||||
| Crude | 184.8, (119.3–250.3) | 180.9, (116.8–245.0) | 114.0, (51.1–176.9) | 0.13 |
| Adjusted for age, sex, and BMI | 194.4, (82.7–306.0) | 181.6, (78.6–284.7) | 93.7, (−10.8–198.2) | 0.03 |
| Multivariate# | 587.2, (335.9–838.6) | 592.7, (347–838.4) | 480.6, (232.2–728.9)*† | 0.02 |
| OUT-PATIENT CARE | ||||
| No. of hospital visits (days/month) | ||||
| Crude | 5.29, (4.53–6.06) | 5.2, 5(4.51–5.98) | 6.00, (5.29–6.71) | 0.18 |
| Adjusted for age, sex, and BMI | 5.21, (3.94–6.48) | 5.21, (4.03–6.38) | 5.96, (4.77–7.15) | 0.16 |
| Multivariate# | 8.57, (5.75–11.39) | 8.40, (5.65–11.14) | 9.26, (6.48–12.04) | 0.20 |
| Medical cost (dollars/month) | ||||
| Crude | 284.8, (246.0–323.5) | 268.4, (230.5–306.3) | 292.4, (255.2–329.6) | 0.78 |
| Adjusted for age, sex, and BMI | 282.6, (215.6–349.6) | 267.0, (205.2–328.8) | 291.6, (228.9–354.3) | 0.75 |
| Multivariate# | 472.1, (325.3–618.9) | 447.8, (304.3–591.3) | 468.1, (323.1–613.2) | 0.88 |
| Total medical cost (dollars/month) | ||||
| Crude | 469.6, (390.2–548.9) | 449.3, (371.6–526.9) | 406.4, (330.2–482.6) | 0.26 |
| Adjusted for age, sex, and BMI | 476.9, (341.2–612.7) | 448.6, (323.3–573.9) | 385.3, (258.3–512.3) | 0.11 |
| Multivariate# | 1059.3, (763.8–1354.8) | 1040.5, (751.7–1329.3) | 948.7, (656.8–1240.7) | 0.04 |
#Adjusted for age (70–74, 75–79, 80–84, and 85+ years), sex, body mass index, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, history of coronary heart disease, history of stroke, history of renal disease, history of hepatic disease, drinking status, smoking status, physical activity, physical performance, depressive symptoms, Mini-Mental State Examination, and use of tranquilizers.
Variables are presented as mean (95% CI).
p Values for trend are based on median levels in each tertile.
*p < .05 as compared with “Low” group (Tukey’s post hoc).
†p < .05 as compared with “Intermediate” group (Tukey’s post hoc).