Table 1.

Patient Demographics and Clinical Characteristics (N = 1,231)

Characteristic	No.	%
Sex*
Male	766	62
Race/ethnicity*
Non-Hispanic white	935	76
Non-Hispanic black	152	12
Asian	53	4
Hispanic	59	5
Other	30	2
Unknown	2	0.2
Marital status*
Married/living as married	749	61
Nonmarried	476	39
Unknown	6	0.5
Age, years*
21-54	172	14
55-59	149	12
60-64	157	13
65-69	201	16
70-74	217	18
75-79	151	12
≥ 80	184	15
Comorbidity score at diagnosis†‡
None	260	21
Mild	481	39
Moderate	244	20
Severe	246	20
Speaks English at home§
Yes	1,133	92
No	39	3
Missing	59	5
Education§
< High school	271	22
High school/some college	721	59
≥ College degree	218	18
Unknown	21	2
Income, $§
< 20,000	367	30
20,000-39,999	339	28
40,000-59,999	151	12
≥ 60,000	179	15
Unknown	195	16
Insurance*
Medicare	178	14
Medicaid	156	13
Medicare plus private	442	36
Private	307	25
Other	142	12
Unknown	6	0.5
HMO member∥
Yes	331	27
No	900	73
Study site∥
Five HMOs	186	15
Eight counties in northern California	278	23
Alabama	157	13
Los Angeles County	198	16
Iowa	260	21
23 counties in North Carolina	30	2
15 VA medical centers	122	10
Cancer type¶
Lung	1,009	82
Colorectal	222	18
Baseline interview type
Patient full	371	30
Patient brief	90	7
Surrogate (living patient)	124	10
Surrogate (deceased patient)	646	52
Follow-up interview type
Survivor	59	5
Decedent	370	30
None	802	65

Abbreviations: HMO, health maintenance organization; MRA, medical record abstraction; VA, Veterans Affairs.

^*Data obtained primarily from baseline interview; if nonresponse to interview item, then data obtained secondarily from MRA; if both data sources are missing, then data obtained from the administrative data (or tracking records).

^†Defined using Adult Comorbidity Evaluation 27, a validated medical record–based system that assigns each patient a four-category comorbidity score (none, mild, moderate, or severe) based on severity noted across multiple body systems, from 3 months before diagnosis to initial treatment.²⁸

^‡Data obtained from MRA.

^§Data obtained from baseline or follow-up interviews.

^∥Data obtained from administrative data (or tracking records).

^¶Data obtained from administrative data (or tracking records).