Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of decedents by quintile of GP visits in the 18–7 months before death
| Quintile of GP visits |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total decedent cohort | 0 | 1–2 | 3–5 | 6–10 | 11+ | |
| N | 14 819 | 3282 (22.2) | 2139 (14.4) | 3130 (21.1) | 3246 (21.9) | 3022 (20.4) |
| Age at death (years) | ||||||
| 45–54 | 371 (2.5) | 63 (1.9) | 56 (2.6) | 90 (2.9) | 85 (2.6) | 77 (2.5) |
| 55–64 | 1363 (9.2) | 261 (8.0) | 198 (9.3) | 311 (9.9) | 307 (9.5) | 286 (9.5) |
| 65–74 | 2771 (18.7) | 594 (18.1) | 398 (18.6) | 580 (18.5) | 614 (18.9) | 585 (19.4) |
| 75–84 | 5135 (34.7) | 1031 (31.4) | 762 (35.6) | 1119 (35.8) | 1151 (35.5) | 1072 (35.5) |
| 85+ | 5179 (34.9) | 1333 (40.6) | 725 (33.9) | 1030 (32.9) | 1089 (33.5) | 1002 (33.2) |
| p Value | ref | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 8875 (59.9) | 1922 (58.6) | 1299 (60.7) | 1877 (60.0) | 1961 (60.4) | 1816 (60.1) |
| Female | 5944 (40.1) | 1360 (41.4) | 840 (39.3) | 1253 (40.0) | 1285 (39.6) | 1206 (39.9) |
| p Value | ref | 0.11 | 0.25 | 0.13 | 0.22 | |
| Language | ||||||
| English | 13 290 (89.7) | 2946 (89.8) | 1917 (89.6) | 2809 (89.7) | 2904 (89.5) | 2714 (89.8) |
| Other | 1527 (10.3) | 335 (10.2) | 221 (10.3) | 321 (10.3) | 342 (10.5) | 308 (10.2) |
| Missing | 2 (0.0) | 1 (0.0) | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| p Value | ref | 0.88 | 0.95 | 0.67 | 0.98 | |
| Education | ||||||
| Did not complete high school | 6418 (43.3) | 1416 (43.1) | 932 (43.6) | 1360 (43.5) | 1420 (43.7) | 1290 (42.7) |
| High school/apprenticeship | 5817 (39.3) | 1278 (38.9) | 847 (39.6) | 1236 (39.5) | 1267 (39.0) | 1189 (39.3) |
| University or higher | 1997 (13.5) | 465 (14.2) | 278 (13.0) | 416 (13.3) | 429 (13.2) | 409 (13.5) |
| Missing | 587 (4.0) | 123 (3.7) | 82 (3.8) | 118 (3.8) | 130 (4.0) | 134 (4.4) |
| p Value | ref | 0.47 | 0.59 | 0.55 | 0.77 | |
| Remoteness | ||||||
| Major cities | 7345 (49.6) | 1650 (50.3) | 1062 (49.6) | 1555 (49.7) | 1615 (49.8) | 1463 (48.4) |
| Inner regional | 4780 (32.3) | 1044 (31.8) | 710 (33.2) | 1000 (31.9) | 1051 (32.4) | 975 (32.3) |
| Outer regional | 2433 (16.4) | 541 (16.5) | 343 (16.0) | 516 (16.5) | 508 (15.7) | 525 (17.4) |
| Remote/very remote | 257 (1.7) | 46 (1.4) | 24 (1.1) | 57 (1.8) | 72 (2.2) | 58 (1.9) |
| Missing | 4 (0.0) | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.0) |
| p Value | ref | 0.61 | 0.60 | 0.07 | 0.21 | |
| Private health insurance | ||||||
| Private extras | 5277 (35.6) | 1204 (36.7) | 765 (35.8) | 1093 (34.9) | 1158 (35.7) | 1057 (35.0) |
| Private no extras | 2093 (14.1) | 455 (13.9) | 319 (14.9) | 434 (13.9) | 448 (13.8) | 437 (14.5) |
| Healthcare card | 5092 (34.4) | 1087 (33.1) | 713 (33.3) | 1092 (34.9) | 1134 (34.9) | 1066 (35.3) |
| None | 2357 (15.9) | 536 (16.3) | 342 (16.0) | 511 (16.3) | 506 (15.6) | 462 (15.3) |
| p Value | ref | 0.70 | 0.41 | 0.46 | 0.18 | |
| Household annual income ($A) | ||||||
| <10 000 | 1553 (10.5) | 313 (9.5) | 226 (10.6) | 331 (10.6) | 345 (10.6) | 338 (11.2) |
| 10 000–29 999 | 5612 (37.9) | 1236 (37.7) | 827 (38.7) | 1176 (37.6) | 1241 (38.2) | 1132 (37.5) |
| 30 000–49 999 | 1620 (10.9) | 400 (12.2) | 217 (10.1) | 344 (11.0) | 351 (10.8) | 308 (10.2) |
| 50 000–69 999 | 728 (4.9) | 162 (4.9) | 98 (4.6) | 171 (5.5) | 137 (4.2) | 160 (5.3) |
| 70 000 or more | 978 (6.6) | 210 (6.4) | 153 (7.2) | 196 (6.3) | 215 (6.6) | 204 (6.8) |
| Prefer not to answer | 2705 (18.3) | 610 (18.6) | 392 (18.3) | 574 (18.3) | 589 (18.1) | 540 (17.9) |
| Missing | 1623 (11.0) | 351 (10.7) | 226 (10.6) | 338 (10.8) | 368 (11.3) | 340 (11.3) |
| p Value | ref | 0.16 | 0.46 | 0.24 | 0.06 | |
| Self-reported health status | ||||||
| Excellent | 701 (4.7) | 164 (5.0) | 76 (3.6) | 157 (5.0) | 162 (5.0) | 142 (4.7) |
| Very good | 2856 (19.3) | 687 (20.9) | 429 (20.1) | 570 (18.2) | 649 (20.0) | 521 (17.2) |
| Good | 5243 (35.4) | 1252 (38.1) | 768 (35.9) | 1095 (35.0) | 1060 (32.7) | 1068 (35.3) |
| Fair | 3879 (26.2) | 787 (24.0) | 557 (26.0) | 853 (27.3) | 881 (27.1) | 801 (26.5) |
| Poor | 1183 (8.0) | 211 (6.4) | 159 (7.4) | 257 (8.2) | 274 (8.4) | 282 (9.3) |
| Missing | 957 (6.5) | 181 (5.5) | 150 (7.0) | 198 (6.3) | 220 (6.8) | 208 (6.9) |
| p Value | ref | 0.02 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Number of comorbidities | ||||||
| None | 2857 (19.3) | 660 (20.1) | 400 (18.7) | 599 (19.1) | 623 (19.2) | 575 (19.0) |
| 1 | 4853 (32.7) | 1097 (33.4) | 700 (32.7) | 1044 (33.4) | 1062 (32.7) | 950 (31.4) |
| 2 | 4122 (27.8) | 878 (26.8) | 595 (27.8) | 842 (26.9) | 918 (28.3) | 889 (29.4) |
| 3 or more | 2987 (20.2) | 647 (19.7) | 444 (20.8) | 645 (20.6) | 643 (19.8) | 608 (20.1) |
| p Value | ref | 0.43 | 0.70 | 0.51 | 0.07 | |
| Functional limitation | ||||||
| No limitation | 1305 (8.8) | 322 (9.8) | 201 (9.4) | 273 (8.7) | 285 (8.8) | 224 (7.4) |
| Minor limitation | 942 (6.4) | 217 (6.6) | 135 (6.3) | 184 (5.9) | 221 (6.8) | 185 (6.1) |
| Mild limitation | 1748 (11.8) | 410 (12.5) | 259 (12.1) | 388 (12.4) | 378 (11.6) | 313 (10.4) |
| Moderate limitation | 2890 (19.5) | 672 (20.5) | 414 (19.4) | 573 (18.3) | 625 (19.3) | 606 (20.1) |
| Severe limitation | 5867 (39.6) | 1201 (36.6) | 814 (38.1) | 1285 (41.1) | 1289 (39.7) | 1278 (42.3) |
| Missing | 2067 (13.9) | 460 (14.0) | 316 (14.8) | 427 (13.6) | 448 (13.8) | 416 (13.8) |
| p Value | ref | 0.73 | 0.004 | 0.08 | <0.001 | |
| Psychological distress | ||||||
| Low distress | 10 553 (71.2) | 2392 (72.9) | 1535 (71.8) | 2190 (70.0) | 2299 (70.8) | 2137 (70.7) |
| Moderate distress | 2099 (14.2) | 442 (13.5) | 284 (13.3) | 467 (14.9) | 455 (14.0) | 451 (14.9) |
| High distress | 848 (5.7) | 172 (5.2) | 118 (5.5) | 183 (5.8) | 203 (6.3) | 172 (5.7) |
| Very high distress | 386 (2.6) | 87 (2.7) | 63 (2.9) | 85 (2.7) | 74 (2.3) | 77 (2.5) |
| Missing | 933 (6.3) | 189 (5.8) | 139 (6.5) | 205 (6.5) | 215 (6.6) | 185 (6.1) |
| p Value | ref | 0.86 | 0.15 | 0.17 | 0.26 | |
Numbers in parenthesis represent the proportion of decedent in the specified quintile. p Values were estimated excluding missing records.
GP, general practitioner. Bold values indicate a statistically significant difference at p<0.05.