Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics.
| All patients N = 177 | ED patients with two or three visits/year (control) N = 132 | ED patients with ≥ 4 visits/year (recurrent) N = 45 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 41 (14) | 40.3 (13.7) | 42.7 (16.0) |
| Sex (female) (%) | 45 (25.4%) | 28 (21.2%) | 17 (37.8%) |
| Total number of underlying mental disorders (%) -Regular outpatient therapy for mental disorders in the history |
2 (1–3) 58 (32.8%) |
2 (1–3) 42 (31.8%) |
3 (1–4) 16 (35.6%) |
| Suicide attempt in the past (%) | 39 (22.0%) | 24 (18.2%) | 15 (33.3%) |
| Domestic violence in the history (%) | 27 (15.3%) | 19 (14.4%) | 8 (17.8%) |
| Coronary heart disease (%) | 7 (4.0%) | 4 (3.0%) | 3 (6.7%) |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 11 (6.2%) | 4 (3.0%) | 7 (15.6%) |
| Arterial hypertension (%) | 18 (10.2%) | 8 (6.1%) | 10 (22.2%) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (%) | 7 (4.0%) | 5 (3.9%) | 2 (4.4%) |
| Chronic kidney failure (%) | 4 (2.3%) | 2 (1.5%) | 2 (4.4%) |
| Chronic liver insufficiency (%) | 6 (3.4%) | 6 (4.5%) | 0% |
| HIV infection (%) | 8 (4.5%) | 7 (5.3%) | 1 (2.2%) |
| Regular drug abuse (%) -Past drug abuse (%) |
48 (27.1%) 22 (12.4%) |
38 (28.8%) 16 (12.1%) |
10 (22.2%) 6 (13.3%) |
| General physician available (%) | 95 (53.7%) | 65 (49.2%) | 30 (66.7%) |
| Homelessness (%) | 28 (15.8%) | 21 (15.9%) | 7 (15.6%) |
| Decaying condition (%) | 29 (16.4%) | 20 (15.2%) | 9 (20%) |
| Housing (%) -Living alone -Living with others -Supervised living |
82 (46.3%) 76 (42.9%) 19 (10.7%) |
61 (46.2%) 58 (43.9%) 13 (9.8%) |
21 (46.7%) 18 (40%) 6 (13.3%) |
| Marital status (%) -Single -Married/in partnership -Divorced -Widowed |
103 (58.2%) 45 (25.4%) 27 (15.3%) 2 (1.1%) |
72 (54.5%) 37 (28.0%) 22 (16.7%) 1 (0.8%) |
31 (68.9%) 8 (17.8%) 5 (11.1%) 1 (2.2%) |
| Children (%) -Of minor age |
58 (32.8%) 32 (18.1%) |
44 (33.3%) 26 (19.7%) |
14 (31.1%) 6 (13.3%) |
| Professional/vocational status (%) -Employed -Unemployed -In training -Retired -Disabled |
47 (26.6%) 68 (38.4%) 7 (4.0%) 11 (6.2%) 44 (24.9%) |
41 (31.1%) 46 (34.8%) 6 (4.5%) 6 (4.5%) 33 (25%) |
6 (13.3%) 22 (48.9%) 1 (2.2%) 5 (11.1%) 11 (24.4%) |
| Level of education (%) -Academic -Professional qualification -In training -No profession -Unknown |
21 (11.9%) 57 (32.2%) 7 (4.0%) 40 (22.6%) 52 (29.4%) |
16 (12.1%) 41 (31.1%) 6 (4.5%) 26 (19.7%) 43 (32.6%) |
5 (11.1%) 16 (35.6%) 1 (2.2%) 14 (31.1%) 9 (20%) |
ED, emergency department. Results are presented as mean (standard deviation) or median (25th–75th percentile).