Table 1.
Study Sample Baseline Characteristics
| Characteristic | White (n = 4,312) | AA (n = 1,191) | Hispanic (n = 366) | P (AA v white)* | P (Hispanic v white)* | P (AA v Hispanic)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic and clinical patient characteristics | ||||||
| Age, mean (SD), years | 61.0 (15.3) | 59.9 (14.6) | 53.8 (17.2) | .03 | < .001 | < .001 |
| Female, % | 55.7 | 65.4 | 58.5 | < .001 | .28 | .02 |
| Married, % | 61.3 | 32.7 | 53.8 | < .001 | .005 | < .001 |
| Cancer type, %† | < .001 | .010 | < .001 | |||
| Lymph/heme | 27.5 | 22.0 | 32.0 | |||
| Breast | 13.8 | 17.2 | 12.6 | |||
| Noncolon GI | 7.9 | 8.9 | 11.4 | |||
| Lung | 7.6 | 8.6 | 3.6 | |||
| Colorectal | 6.5 | 9.7 | 7.2 | |||
| Other | 36.7 | 33.6 | 33.2 | |||
| Payor, % | < .001 | < .001 | < .001 | |||
| Private insurance | 50.4 | 30.5 | 39.6 | |||
| Medicaid | 3.1 | 17.3 | 20.2 | |||
| Medicare | 44.0 | 46.8 | 33.1 | |||
| Self-pay | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | |||
| VA | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | |||
| Other/unknown | 2.1 | 4.0 | 6.0 | |||
| APR severity of illness, % | ||||||
| 1 | 20.3 | 16.3 | 16.9 | < .001 | .28 | .09 |
| 2 | 40.3 | 38.1 | 44.8 | |||
| 3 | 29.8 | 35.6 | 29.5 | |||
| 4 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 8.7 | |||
| Multiple hospitalizations, % yes‡ | 47.0 | 54.2 | 54.4 | < .001 | .007 | .97 |
| DNR order, % yes | 21.9 | 23.8 | 19.1 | .17 | .22 | .06 |
| Long-acting opioid, % yes | 89.0 | 89.6 | 90.2 | .57 | .50 | .75 |
| Palliative care consult, % yes | 15.8 | 21.8 | 20.0 | < .001 | .04 | .44 |
| Hospice referral, % yes | 11.0 | 15.9 | 13.1 | < .001 | .23 | .20 |
| In-hospital death, % yes | 9.1 | 10.1 | 8.7 | .31 | .81 | .45 |
| Neighborhood-level socioeconomic status | ||||||
| % Living in low educational area§ | 27.5 | 24.6 | 28.5 | .06 | .70 | .16 |
| % Living in high poverty area‖ | 20.8 | 18.6 | 22.5 | .21 | .53 | .18 |
| Household income, median (IQR), $¶ | 54,259 (39,594-73,804) | 56,217 (40,791-77,660) | 53,102 (39,556-68,403) | .08 | .23 | .03 |
Abbreviations: AA, African American; APR, all-patient refined; DNR, do not resuscitate; IQR, interquartile range; lymph/heme, cancers of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue; noncolon GI, GI cancers other than colorectal cancer; VA, Veterans Affairs.
P values were calculated using independent sample t tests for continuous variables, χ2 tests for categorical variables, and Wilcoxon rank sum tests for medians. The reported P values are based on pairwise comparisons among groups, and the significance level is based on Bonferroni-adjusted P < .017.
Type of cancer was based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, codes and was missing for 402 patients. The most frequent cancer types are presented. Lung cancer includes cancer of the lung and bronchus. See Appendix Table A2 for the breakdown of other types of cancer.
Patient had more than one hospitalization during the study period. If patients had a palliative care consult on their first hospitalization, they were considered to have had a single hospitalization.
Low educational attainment area is defined as a census block group with 20% or greater of adults with less than a high school education (n = 5,119 because of missing data).
High poverty area is defined as a census block group with 20% or greater of families living below the federal poverty level (n = 3,039 because of missing data).
n = 5,474 because of missing data.