Table 1.
Patient characteristics, stratified by index age
| Patient Characteristics | Age Group, yr | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <65 (n=19,149) | 65–74 (n=14,839) | 75–84 (n=27,012) | ≥85 (n=12,349) | |
| Age, yr | 57±7 | 71±3 | 80±3 | 88±3 |
| Male, % | 94 | 98 | 98 | 97 |
| Race, % | ||||
| Black | 25 | 14 | 9 | 9 |
| White | 62 | 74 | 78 | 78 |
| Other | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Married, % | 45 | 59 | 63 | 56 |
| Distance to closest VA facility (miles) | 43±45 | 48±46 | 48±45 | 46±46 |
| High complexity VA, % | 79 | 75 | 74 | 74 |
| Copayment for VA services, % | 69 | 84 | 87 | 83 |
| ZIP code median income, % | ||||
| ≤$35,000 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 16 |
| $35,001–$42,000 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
| $42,001–$50,000 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| $50,001–$62,000 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
| ≥$62,001 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 |
| Residence, % | ||||
| Urban | 84 | 81 | 80 | 82 |
| Large city | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Rural | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Comorbidities, % | ||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 46 | 56 | 46 | 34 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 24 | 46 | 53 | 51 |
| Heart failure | 15 | 27 | 32 | 33 |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 9 | 19 | 22 | 21 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 7 | 14 | 17 | 17 |
| Paralysis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chronic pulmonary disease | 16 | 27 | 28 | 27 |
| Chronic liver disease | 9 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Connective tissue disease | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Peptic ulcer disease | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Malignancy | 11 | 19 | 23 | 25 |
| Metastatic solid tumor | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| AIDS | 2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Dementia | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| Depression | 30 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| Index eGFR, ml/min per 1.73 m2 | 23±6 | 24±6 | 25±5 | 25±5 |
| Year of index date, % | ||||
| 2005–2007 | 48 | 59 | 66 | 54 |
| 2008–2010 | 52 | 42 | 34 | 46 |
4% of patients were missing information on race, 0.7% were missing facility complexity, 0.4% were missing copayment, 4% were missing residence, and 2% were missing ZIP code median income. Data are presented as mean ± SEM or as percentages.