Table 1. Patient characteristics.
| Patient characteristics | n (total 998) | % |
| Male | 569 | 57.0 |
| Age (years) (SD) | 62.7 ± 14.7 | |
| <30 years | 42 | 4.2 |
| >30–45 years | 86 | 8.6 |
| >45–65 years | 378 | 37.9 |
| >65–75 years | 306 | 30.7 |
| >75 years | 186 | 18.6 |
| History of disease | ||
| No previous disease | 83 | 8.3 |
| At least one relevant previous disease* | 915 | 91.7 |
| – Cancer as underlying disease | 412 | 41.3 |
| – Underlying cardiac disease | 392 | 39.3 |
| – Underlying pulmonary disease | 159 | 15.9 |
| – Underlying neurologic disease | 90 | 9.0 |
| Mode of life before hospital admission | ||
| Living independently at home | 933 | 93.5 |
| Cared for at home | 48 | 4.8 |
| Care home/nursing home | 12 | 1.2 |
| No data | 5 | 0.5 |
SD = standard deviation
* “At least one relevant previous disease” equates to a medical history of severe disease requiring long-term medical treatment