Table 2.
Characterisation of the multimorbid and non-multimorbid populations
| Overall | Multimorbidity |
p Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (%) | No | |||
| Number (%) | 411 | 304 (74.0) | 107 (26.0) | |
| Haemoglobin (≤129 g/L) | 183 (44.5) | 146 (79.8) | 37 (20.2 | 0.02 |
| Albumin, (≤35 g/L) | 171 (41.6) | 137 (80.1) | 34 (19.9) | 0.02 |
| Polypharmacy (yes %) | 279 (67.9) | 240 (86.0) | 39 (14.0) | <0.0001 |
| Frailty (Canadian Study of Health and Ageing scale) | ||||
| Very fit | 73 (17.9) | 32 (43.8) | 41 (56.2) | <0.0001 |
| Well | 52 (12.8) | 28 (53.8) | 24 (46.2) | Test for trend |
| Well, with comorbidity | 89 (21.8) | 72 (80.9) | 17 (19.1) | |
| Apparently vulnerable | 81 (19.8) | 65 (80.2) | 16 (19.8) | |
| Mildly frail | 56 (13.7) | 49 (87.5) | 7 (12.5) | |
| Moderately frail | 41 (10.1) | 39 (95.1) | 2 (14.9) | |
| Severely frail | 16 (3.9) | 16 (100) | 0 | |
| Operation (yes %) | 79 (19.2) | 55 (69.6) | 24 (30.4) | 0.33 |
| Minor or intermediate surgery | 24 (34.3) | 7 (29.2) | 17 (70.8) | 0.03 |
| Major or more severe surgery | 46 (65.7) | 41 (91.3) | 4 (8.7) | |
| Missing | 9 | |||
| Length of hospital stay (days, 95% CI) | 9.3 (8.1 to 10.5) | 9.1 (7.5 to 10.4) | 9.8 (7.2 to 12.5) | 0.29 |
| Readmission to hospital (yes %) | 82 (19.9) | 64 (78.0) | 18 (22.0) | 0.35 |
| Death within 30 days (yes %) | 20 (4.9) | 14 (70.0) | 6 (30.0) | 0.68 |
| Death within 90 days (yes %) | 36 (8.8) | 28 (77.8) | 8 (22.2) | 0.60 |