Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of participants with polypharmacy assigned to a computerised decision support tool for comprehensive drug review or treatment as usual (control group). Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | Decision support group (n=1953) | Control group (n=1951) |
|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 81.5 (4.4) | 81.5 (4.5) |
| Women | 1103 (56.5) | 1137 (58.3) |
| Men | 850 (43.5) | 814 (41.7) |
| Educational level*: | ||
| Low | 788 (40.3) | 748 (38.3) |
| Medium | 739 (37.8) | 726 (37.2) |
| High | 285 (14.6) | 292 (15.0) |
| Missing | 141 (7.2) | 185 (9.5) |
| Smoking status: | ||
| Smoker | 66 (3.4) | 88 (4.5) |
| Former or non-smoker | 1806 (92.5) | 1776 (91.0) |
| Missing | 81 (4.1) | 87 (4.5) |
| Body mass index: | ||
| <18.5 | 15 (0.8) | 19 (1.0) |
| 18.5-24 | 483 (24.7) | 474 (24.3) |
| 25-29 | 816 (41.8) | 790 (40.5) |
| ≥30 | 639 (32.7) | 668 (34.2) |
| Clinical frailty scale†: | ||
| Fit, well, or managing well | 872 (44.6) | 771 (39.5) |
| Vulnerable | 426 (21.8) | 442 (22.7) |
| Mildly frail | 298 (15.3) | 362 (18.6) |
| Moderately frail | 255 (13.1) | 250 (12.8) |
| Severely or very severely frail | 47 (2.4) | 58 (3.0) |
| Missing | 55 (2.8) | 68 (3.5) |
| No of falls in past three months: | ||
| 0 | 1752 (89.7) | 1733 (88.8) |
| 1 | 154 (7.9) | 154 (7.9) |
| ≥2 | 47 (2.4) | 64 (3.3) |
| SF-12 composite scores: | ||
| Physical health | 37.1 (9.4) (n=1774) | 36.7 (9.6) (n=1710) |
| Mental health | 48.1 (11.2) (n=1773) | 48.2 (11.0) (n=1710) |
| Mean (SD) No of drugs | 10.5 (2.5) | 10.5 (2.4) |
| Mean (SD) No of diagnoses | 9.3 (4.4) (n=1952) | 9.7 (5.4) (n=1946) |
| Study centre: | ||
| Bolzano, Italy | 451 (23.1) | 450 (23.1) |
| Manchester, UK | 362 (18.5) | 331 (17.0) |
| Salzburg, Austria | 292 (15.0) | 295 (15.1) |
| Rostock, Germany | 475 (24.3) | 506 (25.9) |
| Witten, Germany | 373 (19.1) | 369 (18.9) |