Table 1.
Characteristics of ED Patient Visits by Older Adults With and Without Opioid Dependence
| Sample Characteristics | Nonopioid-related visits | Opioid-related visits | % Difference (nonopioid − opioid) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Percent | Weighted | Observed | Mean (SD) | Percent | Weighted | Observed | ||
| ED visit outcome | |||||||||
| Hospital admission | 38.9 | 34,912,481 | 7,833,318 | 68.8 | 87,327 | 19,351 | 29.9 | ||
| Visit ended in death | 2.7 | 2,490,064 | 549,380 | 1.6 | 2,078 | 461 | −1.1 | ||
| Patient visit characteristics | |||||||||
| Age | 77.4 (8.2) | 89,762,955 | 19,998,548 | 72.1 (6.7) | 126,931 | 28,167 | −5.3 | ||
| Age 65–74 | 40.7 | 36,611,071 | 8,171,350 | 71.0 | 90,070 | 19,926 | 30.3 | ||
| Age 75–84 | 36.5 | 32,795,853 | 7,302,115 | 22.2 | 28,171 | 6,308 | −14.3 | ||
| Age 85 and older | 22.7 | 20,356,031 | 4,525,083 | 6.8 | 8,690 | 1,933 | −15.9 | ||
| Sex | |||||||||
| Male | 41.1 | 37,189,583 | 8,270,124 | 43.0 | 55,672 | 12,257 | 1.9 | ||
| Female | 58.6 | 52,573,372 | 11,728,424 | 56.1 | 71,259 | 15,910 | −2.5 | ||
| Number of chronic conditions | 3.8 (3.3) | 89,762,955 | 19,998,548 | 6.6 (3.1) | 126,931 | 28,167 | 2.8 | ||
| Alcohol-related visit | 1.4 | 1,224,684 | 272,344 | 9.7 | 12,285 | 2,721 | 8.3 | ||
| Injury-related visit | 20.0 | 18,003,255 | 4,001,005 | 30.3 | 38,523 | 8,604 | 10.3 | ||
| Fall-related injury | 11.9 | 10,723,053 | 2,394,593 | 6.3 | 8,015 | 1,795 | −5.6 | ||
| Primary insurance status | |||||||||
| Medicare | 87.2 | 78,420,017 | 17,476,685 | 87.2 | 110,630 | 24,612 | 0.0 | ||
| Medicaid | 1.6 | 1,416,082 | 319,401 | 3.3 | 4,195 | 897 | 1.7 | ||
| Self-pay | 1.1 | 977,136 | 217,897 | 6.7 | 8,484 | 1,870 | 5.6 | ||
| Other | 10.0 | 8,949,720 | 1,984,565 | 2.9 | 3,622 | 788 | −7.1 | ||
| Income level | |||||||||
| Lowest quartile | 27.1 | 24,395,201 | 5,455,129 | 31.2 | 39,574 | 8,672 | 4.1 | ||
| Middle quartiles | 50.1 | 45,065,071 | 9,989,425 | 48.0 | 60,912 | 13,513 | −2.1 | ||
| Highest quartile | 20.6 | 18,475,445 | 4,145,772 | 17.8 | 22,648 | 5,149 | −2.8 | ||
| Unknown | 2.0 | 1,827,237 | 408,222 | 3.0 | 3,797 | 833 | 1.0 | ||
| Rural residence | |||||||||
| Rurally located | 21.0 | 18,876,914 | 3,992,601 | 16.8 | 21,294 | 4,375 | −4.2 | ||
| Not rurally located | 79.0 | 70,886,041 | 16,005,947 | 83.2 | 105,636 | 23,792 | 4.2 | ||
| Region | |||||||||
| Northeast | 19.3 | 17,345,553 | 3,751,643 | 17.0 | 21,554 | 4,675 | −2.3 | ||
| Midwest | 23.5 | 21,112,888 | 4,222,341 | 16.3 | 20,721 | 4,127 | −7.2 | ||
| South | 38.2 | 34,315,967 | 8,248,825 | 35.5 | 45,105 | 10,501 | −2.7 | ||
| West | 18.9 | 16,988,547 | 3,775,739 | 31.2 | 39,551 | 8,864 | 12.3 | ||
| Year | |||||||||
| 2006 | 22.6 | 20,337,883 | 4,396,992 | 11.1 | 14,047 | 2,994 | −11.5 | ||
| 2009 | 24.0 | 21,609,824 | 4,813,471 | 18.2 | 23,160 | 5,104 | −5.8 | ||
| 2011 | 25.6 | 22,971,902 | 5,171,171 | 27.0 | 34,311 | 7,640 | 1.4 | ||
| 2014 | 27.6 | 24,843,345 | 5,616,914 | 43.7 | 55,413 | 12,429 | 16.1 | ||
| All patient visits | 100.0 | 89,762,955 | 19,998,548 | 100.0 | 126,931 | 28,167 | n/a | ||
| Total sample observed | 20,026,715 | ||||||||
| Total sample weighted | 89,899,886 |
Notes. ED = emergency department. Descriptive statistics were calculated on the pooled sample of all four data years (2006, 2009, 2011, 2014). For each comparison, % difference was calculated as (opioid-related visits − nonopioid-related visits). Results from bivariate analyses were significant for all group comparisons (p < .001). n/a = not applicable.