Table 1.
Patient characteristics during the baseline year
| Characteristic | Patients (n = 17,382) |
|---|---|
| Gender, n (%) | |
| Female | 8801 (50.6%) |
| Age groups, n (%) | |
| 40–54 years | 2632 (15.1%) |
| 55–64 years | 5431 (31.3%) |
| ≥65 years | 9319 (53.6%) |
| Age, mean ± SD | 66.7 ± 11.4 |
| US geographic region | |
| Northeast | 3707 (21.3%) |
| Midwest | 5321 (30.6%) |
| South | 5776 (33.2%) |
| West | 2526 (14.5%) |
| Unknown | 52 (0.3%) |
| Health plan type | |
| PPO | 11,035 (63.5%) |
| HMO | 3852 (22.2%) |
| Other | 2495 (14.4%) |
| Baseline comorbidities, n (%) | |
| Acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis | 3843 (22.1%) |
| Acute sinusitis | 1660 (9.6%) |
| Acute upper respiratory infection | 1386 (8.0%) |
| Allergic rhinitis | 1290 (7.4%) |
| Chronic sinusitis | 748 (4.3%) |
| Other respiratory infections | 661 (3.8%) |
| Insomnia | 528 (3.0%) |
| Acute laryngitis and tracheitis | 106 (0.6%) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 6936 (39.9%) |
| Ischemic heart disease | 4578 (26.3%) |
| Congestive heart failure | 2760 (15.9%) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 1894 (10.9%) |
| Stroke or transient ischemic attack | 1495 (8.6%) |
| Myocardial infarction | 871 (5.0%) |
| Rheumatologic disease, n (%) | 390 (2.2%) |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 3689 (21.2%) |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 9732 (56.0%) |
| Anxiety, n (%) | 1345 (7.7%) |
| Depression, n (%) | 1301 (7.5%) |
| Malignancy, n (%) | 1597 (9.2%) |
| Baseline DCI score*, mean ± SD | 1.3 ± 1.7 |
Note:
*
Calculation excluded chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Abbreviations: DCI, Deyo–Charlson Comorbidity Index; HMO, health maintenance organization; PPO, preferred provider organization; SD, standard deviation.