Table 1.
Baseline and Index Hospitalization Characteristics of Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries by Early Readmission Status and Adjusted Associations with Readmission
| Characteristic | No. (%)* | Adjusted OR† (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (n = 2133) | Readmission (n = 304) | No Readmission (n = 1829) | ||
| Sociodemographic | ||||
| Age, mean (SE) | 77.3 (0.2) | 77.9 (0.4) | 77.2 (0.2) | 1.01 (0.99-1.03) |
| Female sex | 1173 (55.1) | 164 (52.8) | 1009 (55.5) | 0.82 (0.60-1.12) |
| Minority‡ | 356 (17.1) | 63 (22.8) | 293 (16.2) | 1.50 (1.07-2.09) |
| Living alone | 714 (31.2) | 107 (32.8) | 607 (30.9) | 1.07 (0.76-1.52) |
| Non-high school graduate | 812 (36.4) | 133 (43.3) | 679 (35.2) | 1.13 (0.84-1.51) |
| Annual income ≤$25,000 | 1337 (62.9) | 214 (69.7) | 1163 (61.8) | 1.09 (0.80-1.49) |
| Health and functional status | ||||
| Limited self-rated health§ | 747 (34.9) | 130 (44.6) | 617 (33.3) | 1.15 (0.85-1.56) |
| Prior hospitalizations║ | ||||
| 0 | 1712 (80.8) | 221 (73.1) | 1491 (82.0) | 1.00 |
| 1 | 300 (13.5) | 52 (16.4) | 248 (13.1) | 1.32 (0.92-1.90) |
| 2 or more | 121 (5.7) | 31 (10.5) | 90 (5.0) | 2.32 (1.48-3.63) |
| Difficulty in any ADL¶ | 938 (42.3) | 161 (51.3) | 777 (40.9) | 1.12 (0.81-1.54) |
| Mobility difficulty | 1587 (72.9) | 241 (77.1) | 1346 (72.3) | 1.00 (0.70-1.42) |
| Current tobacco use | 216 (11.1) | 42 (14.0) | 174 (10.4) | 1.62 (1.06-2.47) |
| Cognitive symptoms | 354 (15.3) | 53 (16.7) | 301 (15.0) | 0.91 (0.61-1.37) |
| Psychiatric symptoms | 605 (27.4) | 86 (29.2) | 519 (27.1) | 0.92 (0.66-1.30) |
| Body mass index | ||||
| <20 | 172 (7.2) | 24 (7.1) | 148 (7.2) | 0.85 (0.51-1.43) |
| 20-25 | 686 (30.6) | 98 (31.1) | 588 (30.6) | 1.00 |
| 25-30 | 782 (37.2) | 110 (36.1) | 672 (37.4) | 1.04 (0.76-1.43) |
| >30 | 493 (25.0) | 72 (25.8) | 421 (24.9) | 1.06 (0.71-1.57) |
| Medical comorbidity# | ||||
| Self-report or claims | ||||
| Heart failure | 371 (16.4) | 70 (21.5) | 301 (15.5) | 0.98 (0.72-1.33) |
| Lung disease | 631 (30.0) | 99 (32.0) | 532 (29.6) | 0.95 (0.72-1.26) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 620 (29.4) | 104 (35.9) | 516 (28.4) | 1.08 (0.81-1.45) |
| Hypertension | 1661 (77.4) | 247 (81.4) | 1414 (76.7) | 1.15 (0.79-1.67) |
| Cancer | 506 (23.9) | 96 (33.3) | 410 (22.4) | 1.45 (1.08-1.93) |
| Arthritis | 1455 (67.4) | 223 (73.3) | 1232 (66.5) | 1.24 (0.92-1.67) |
| Neurological disease | 555 (25.5) | 74 (25.0) | 481 (25.2) | 0.80 (0.58-1.11) |
| Self-report only | ||||
| Coronary artery disease | 767 (35.1) | 136 (44.6) | 631 (33.6) | 1.61 (1.22-2.11) |
| Claims only | ||||
| Heart valve or pulmonary circulatory disease | 232 (10.7) | 40 (13.3) | 192 (10.3) | 1.13 (0.76-1.67) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 119 (5.5) | 19 (6.0) | 100 (5.4) | 0.82 (0.43-1.53) |
| Hypothyroidism | 203 (9.4) | 24 (7.6) | 179 (9.7) | 0.81 (0.49-1.32) |
| Renal failure | 88 (4.1) | 20 (6.3) | 68 (3.7) | 1.09 (0.58-2.03) |
| Anemia or coagulopathy | 299 (13.6) | 49 (16.4) | 250 (13.2) | 1.03 (0.70-1.50) |
| Weight loss | 41 (2.0) | 13 (4.5) | 28 (1.6) | 2.26 (1.11-4.60) |
| Fluid and electrolyte disorders | 379 (17.1) | 72 (21.8) | 307 (16.4) | 1.19 (0.85-1.67) |
| Mental health disorders | 127 (6.1) | 12 (4.5) | 115 (6.5) | 0.54 (0.27-1.07) |
| Hospitalization characteristics | ||||
| Length of stay | ||||
| 0-4 days | 1341 (63.4) | 168 (54.7) | 1173 (64.8) | 1.00 |
| 5-10 days | 615 (28.3) | 92 (30.3) | 523 (28.0) | 0.98 (0.73-1.32) |
| >10 days | 177 (8.3) | 44 (15.0) | 133 (7.2) | 1.43 (0.91-2.22) |
| Intensive care unit admission | 714 (33.7) | 108 (37.0) | 606 (33.2) | 0.98 (0.72-1.35) |
| Primary discharge diagnosis** | ||||
| Infections | 215 (9.7) | 34 (10.7) | 181 (9.5) | 1.13 (0.56-2.26) |
| Non-metastatic cancer | 109 (5.5) | 23 (9.0) | 86 (5.0) | 1.79 (0.86-3.70) |
| Metastatic cancer | 36 (1.9) | 12 (4.5) | 24 (1.5) | 2.64 (1.03-6.79) |
| Endocrine, nutritional, metabolic, hematologic and immune disease | 107 (5.0) | 19 (5.9) | 88 (4.9) | 0.93 (0.43-2.02) |
| Neurologic, sensory, musculoskeletal, and dermatologic diseases | 238 (11.9) | 18 (5.5) | 220 (12.9) | 0.46 (0.21-1.03) |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 57 (2.7) | 14 (5.0) | 43 (2.3) | 1.96 (0.78-4.93) |
| Arrhythmias, gastrointestinal disorders, and fractures | 413 (18.8) | 45 (13.9) | 368 (19.6) | 0.74 (0.40-1.38) |
| Heart failure | 116 (5.1) | 24 (7.1) | 92 (4.7) | 1.18 (0.57-2.46) |
| Acute cerebrovascular, non-infectious respiratory, and genitourinary disease | 321 (14.8) | 43 (13.1) | 278 (15.1) | 0.87 (0.45-1.68) |
| Other diseases of the circulatory system | 329 (15.7) | 41 (13.6) | 288 (16.1) | 0.90 (0.47-1.73) |
| Gastrointestinal hemorrhage or obstruction, hepatic or pancreatic disease | 71 (3.3) | 16 (5.9) | 55 (2.8) | 2.08 (0.92-4.69) |
| Other | 121 (5.6) | 15 (5.9) | 106 (5.6) | 1.00 |
| Post-acute care | ||||
| Home | 1479 (70.5) | 189 (61.5) | 1290 (71.9) | 1.00 |
| Home with home health | 219 (10.5) | 37 (13.0) | 182 (10.1) | 1.45 (0.93-2.28) |
| Skilled nursing facility | 326 (13.8) | 63 (20.8) | 263 (12.7) | 1.96 (1.30-2.96) |
| Other†† | 109 (5.2) | 15 (4.7) | 94 (5.3) | 1.20 (0.65-2.20) |
*Values expressed as number (weighted percentage) except for age, where mean age in years is followed by SE
†Odds ratios from a multivariable logistic regression including all variables in the table, with readmission within 30 days as the dependent variable
‡Includes Black, Hispanic, Asian, Asian American or Pacific Islander, North American Indian, Alaskan Native, or unknown, based on respondent self-identification
§Includes fair and poor self-rated health
║Presence of hospitalization(s) in the 6 months prior to the baseline interview
¶Includes basic activities of daily living (ADLs) – bathing, dressing, toileting, walking, eating, and transferring
#Includes physician-diagnosed, self-reported chronic conditions from the baseline interview and comorbid conditions from the Elixhauser classification of secondary diagnosis International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes from the index hospitalization
**Generated from the index hospitalization International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification primary diagnoses code, based on the Clinical Classification Software available from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research
††Includes transfer to inpatient rehabilitation, long-term acute care hospital, psychiatric hospital, or those that left against medical advice