Table 1. Attributes of patients being handled by the pharmacies surveyed (n = 3713).
| Parameter | Category | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male (n = 1411) | (%) | Female (n = 2154) | (%) | Overall (n = 3565) | (%) | Overall (n = 3713)a | (%) | ||
| Age | Mean | 77.6 | 81.3 | 80.1 | |||||
| Age Distribution | < 75 years | 399 | (29.2) | 341 | (16.4) | 740 | (21.5) | 763 | (21.5) |
| ≥ 75 and < 80 years | 205 | (15.0) | 263 | (12.6) | 468 | (13.6) | 476 | (13.4) | |
| ≥ 80 and < 85 years | 294 | (21.5) | 513 | (24.7) | 807 | (23.4) | 824 | (23.2) | |
| ≥ 85 and < 90 years | 296 | (21.7) | 491 | (23.6) | 787 | (22.8) | 812 | (22.9) | |
| ≥ 90 | 172 | (12.6) | 472 | (22.7) | 644 | (18.7) | 676 | (19.0) | |
| Total | 1366 | (100.0) | 2080 | (100.0) | 3446 | (100.0) | 3551 | (100.0) | |
| Nursing care level | Independent | 64 | (4.8) | 75 | (3.7) | 139 | (4.1) | 145 | (4.2) |
| Needed support grades Ⅰ-Ⅱ | 129 | (9.8) | 220 | (10.8) | 349 | (10.4) | 356 | (10.3) | |
| Ⅰ | 224 | (17.0) | 453 | (22.3) | 677 | (20.2) | 700 | (20.2) | |
| Ⅱ | 285 | (21.6) | 449 | (22.1) | 734 | (21.9) | 757 | (21.9) | |
| Ⅲ | 188 | (14.2) | 286 | (14.1) | 474 | (14.1) | 486 | (14.1) | |
| Ⅳ | 178 | (13.5) | 225 | (11.1) | 403 | (12.0) | 425 | (12.3) | |
| Ⅴ | 206 | (15.6) | 273 | (13.4) | 479 | (14.3) | 492 | (14.2) | |
| Application pending | 13 | (1.0) | 10 | (0.5) | 23 | (0.7) | 23 | (0.7) | |
| Unknown | 34 | (2.6) | 39 | (1.9) | 73 | (2.2) | 74 | (2.1) | |
| Total | 1321 | (100.0) | 2030 | (100.0) | 3351 | (100.0) | 3458 | (100.0) | |
| Primary Disease | Circulatory disease | 226 | (17.0) | 381 | (18.6) | 607 | (18.0) | 641 | (18.4) |
| Cerebral infarction | 242 | (18.2) | 168 | (8.2) | 410 | (12.1) | 421 | (12.1) | |
| Osteoarthritis | 24 | (1.8) | 100 | (4.9) | 124 | (3.7) | 126 | (3.6) | |
| Fracture/osteoporosis | 22 | (1.7) | 117 | (5.7) | 139 | (4.1) | 143 | (4.1) | |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 9 | (0.7) | 48 | (2.3) | 57 | (1.7) | 58 | (1.7) | |
| Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | 19 | (1.4) | 23 | (1.1) | 42 | (1.2) | 46 | (1.3) | |
| Dementia | 242 | (18.2) | 626 | (30.6) | 868 | (25.7) | 891 | (25.5) | |
| Parkinson’s disease | 64 | (4.8) | 91 | (4.4) | 155 | (4.6) | 156 | (4.5) | |
| Other nerve disease | 54 | (4.1) | 78 | (3.8) | 132 | (3.9) | 136 | (3.9) | |
| Chronic respiratory failure | 88 | (6.6) | 53 | (2.6) | 141 | (4.2) | 144 | (4.1) | |
| Cancer | 147 | (11.0) | 129 | (6.3) | 276 | (8.2) | 287 | (8.2) | |
| Renal failure | 28 | (2.1) | 22 | (1.1) | 50 | (1.5) | 53 | (1.5) | |
| Other | 167 | (12.5) | 211 | (10.3) | 378 | (11.2) | 389 | (11.1) | |
| Total | 1332 | (100.0) | 2047 | (100.0) | 3379 | (100.0) | 3491 | (100.0) | |
| Living Situation | At home, alone | 352 | (25.6) | 674 | (32.2) | 1026 | (29.6) | 1057 | (29.5) |
| At home, with spouse | 395 | (28.7) | 269 | (12.9) | 664 | (19.1) | 673 | (18.8) | |
| At home, with family | 341 | (24.8) | 503 | (24.1) | 844 | (24.3) | 878 | (24.5) | |
| At home, with someone other than family | 15 | (1.1) | 15 | (0.7) | 30 | (0.9) | 33 | (0.9) | |
| Communal living with assisted care | 244 | (17.7) | 562 | (26.9) | 806 | (23.2) | 842 | (23.5) | |
| Special nursing home | 30 | (2.2) | 68 | (3.3) | 98 | (2.8) | 102 | (2.8) | |
| Total | 1377 | (100.0) | 2091 | (100.0) | 3468 | (100.0) | 3585 | (100.0) |
a: Including 148 subjects whose sex was unknown