Table 2.

GEE logistic regression analysis of correlations between patient and hospital characteristics and treatment refusal in colorectal cancer patients

Variable	GEE analysis a
	Adj. OR	95% CI		P value
Sex
Female (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Male	1.06	0.98	1.14	0.172
Age at diagnosis, years
≤44 (reference group)	-	-	-	-
45–54	1.13	0.97	1.31	0.112
55–64	1.14	1.01	1.29	0.028*
65–74	1.24	1.06	1.45	0.009*
≥75	1.87	1.55	2.26	<0.001*
Urbanization level of residence location
Level 1 (highest; reference group)	-	-	-	-
Level 2	0.97	0.86	1.08	0.555
Level 3	0.90	0.78	1.04	0.144
Level 4	0.89	0.76	1.05	0.172
Level 5	1.01	0.82	1.24	0.961
Level 6	1.01	0.82	1.23	0.961
Level 7 (lowest)	0.96	0.76	1.22	0.761
Aboriginal status
No (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Yes	0.80	0.51	1.24	0.317
Insured monthly salary, NTD
≤17,280 (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Insured dependent	0.78	0.65	0.94	0.007*
17,281–22,800	0.90	0.80	1.00	0.048*
≥22,801	0.79	0.69	0.89	<0.001*
Low-income household status
No (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Yes	1.33	0.98	1.80	0.064
Other catastrophic illnesses or injuries
No (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Yes	1.66	1.37	2.02	<0.001*
Cancer stage
Stage 0 (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Stage I	0.38	0.29	0.48	<0.001*
Stage II	0.29	0.22	0.39	<0.001*
Stage III	0.35	0.27	0.47	<0.001*
Stage IV	1.32	1.03	1.69	0.029*
Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI)
≤3 (reference group)	-	-	-	-
4–6	1.29	1.07	1.56	0.009*
≥7	1.28	1.05	1.56	0.013*
Level of diagnosing hospital
Medical center (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Regional hospital	1.54	1.09	2.17	0.013*
District hospital	1.82	1.27	2.61	0.001*
Ownership type of diagnosing hospital
Public (reference group)	-	-	-	-
Private	0.86	0.63	1.17	0.330

^aevent: treatment refusal *P < 0.05.