Table 2.
Patient Characteristics by Functional Trajectory Before Hospice and Hospice Admission Diagnosis
| Characteristic | Patients, No. (%) | Age, Mean (SD), ya | Female Sex, No. (%) | Non-Hispanic White, No. (%) | <12 Years’ Education, No. (%) | Chronic Conditions, Mean (SD), No.b |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 213 (100) | 86.4 (5.8) | 138 (64.8) | 192 (90.1) | 79 (37.1) | 2.5 (1.3) |
| Functional trajectoryc | ||||||
| Late decline | 23 (10.8) | 82.0 (6.2) | 12 (52.2) | 22 (95.7) | 4 (17.4) | 2.4 (1.3) |
| Accelerated | 23 (10.8) | 83.9 (4.9) | 13 (56.5) | 22 (95.7) | 6 (26.1) | 2.5 (1.2) |
| Moderate | 45 (21.1) | 83.9 (5.1) | 26 (57.8) | 38 (84.4) | 17 (37.8) | 2.6 (1.2) |
| Progressively severe | 53 (24.9) | 88.7 (5.1) | 37 (69.8) | 49 (92.5) | 25 (47.2) | 2.5 (1.2) |
| Persistently severe | 69 (32.4) | 88.6 (5.0) | 50 (72.5) | 61 (88.4) | 27 (39.1) | 2.4 (1.4) |
| Admission diagnosisd | ||||||
| Cancer | 74 (34.7) | 83.6 (5.9) | 42 (56.7) | 67 (90.5) | 24 (32.4) | 2.7 (1.3) |
| Neurodegenerative | 45 (21.1) | 87.7 (5.1) | 30 (66.7) | 38 (84.4) | 17 (37.8) | 2.0 (1.1) |
| Cardiac | 34 (16.0) | 87.9 (5.6) | 19 (55.9) | 32 (94.1) | 17 (50.0) | 2.7 (1.2) |
| Frailty/debility | 20 (9.4) | 90.9 (4.3) | 15 (75.0) | 19 (95.0) | 8 (40.0) | 2.3 (1.2) |
| Other organ failure | 15 (7.0) | 87.7 (4.7) | 12 (80.0) | 15 (100) | 5 (33.3) | 2.8 (1.5) |
| Vascular | 14 (6.6) | 85.0 (5.3) | 11 (78.6) | 11 (78.6) | 5 (35.7) | 2.0 (1.5) |
| Respiratory | 11 (5.2) | 87.1 (3.8) | 9 (81.8) | 10 (90.9) | 3 (27.3) | 3.2 (1.3) |
a
Age was measured at the start of the trajectories.
b
Average based on 9 physician-diagnosed, patient-reported conditions: diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, cancer, chronic lung disease, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, hip fracture, and stroke.
c
The 95% CIs for the group membership frequencies, based on 1,000 bootstrap samples, were as follows: late decline, 5.6% to 16.0%; accelerated, 4.2% to 17.6%; moderate, 13.4% to 28.2%; progressively severe, 17.4% to 32.4%; and persistently severe, 23.9% to 42.3%.
d
As defined in Table 1.