Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients by disease cohort.
| Variables | CHF | CAD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention group | Control group | p value | Intervention group | Control group | p value | |
| Number of patients | 13,404 | 8,776 | n.a | 19,537 | 16,696 | n.a |
| Sociodemographic parameters | ||||||
| Mean age (years) | 72.9 ± 10.3 | 74.2 ± 11.4 | < 0.0001 | 72.0 ± 9.9 | 72.1 ± 10.9 | 0.168 |
| Age 18–40, n (%) | 76 (0.6) | 77 (0.9) | 50 (0.3) | 79 (0.5) | ||
| Age 41–50, n (%) | 372 (2.8) | 246 (2.8) | 550 (2.8) | 578 (3.5) | ||
| Age 51–60, n (%) | 1,264 (9.4) | 800 (9.1) | 2,178 (11.1) | 2,017 (12.1) | ||
| Age 61–70, n (%) | 2,723 (20.3) | 1,495 (17.0) | 4,551 (23.3) | 3,543 (21.2) | ||
| Age 71–80, n (%) | 5,949 (44.4) | 3,417 (38.9) | 8,572 (43.9) | 6,786 (40.6) | ||
| Age 81–90, n (%) | 2,855 (21.3) | 2,438 (27.8) | 3,483 (17.8) | 3,388 (20.3) | ||
| Age ≥ 91, n (%) | 165 (1.2) | 303 (3.5) | 153 (0.8) | 305 (1.8) | ||
| Sex (% women) | 44.8 | 47.2 | < 0.0001 | 37.1 | 38.8 | < 0.0001 |
| German nationality (%) | 91.5 | 90.9 | 0.118 | 89.1 | 88.5 | 0.067 |
| Living in urban area (%) | 46.5 | 47.2 | 0.313 | 48.9 | 49.0 | 0.769 |
| Employed (%) | 13.1 | 12.8 | 0.478 | 15.4 | 17.9 | < 0.0001 |
| Hardship statusa (%) | 30.7 | 47.9 | < 0.0001 | 29.4 | 40.6 | < 0.0001 |
| In need of nursing care (%) | 11.6 | 23.0 | < 0.0001 | 8.4 | 12.9 | < 0.0001 |
| Nursing home resident (%) | 0.6 | 3.1 | < 0.0001 | 0.3 | 1.3 | < 0.0001 |
| Health services utilisation (%) | ||||||
| DMP CAD | 41.7 | 22.7 | < 0.0001 | 61.3 | 36.2 | < 0.0001 |
| DMP DM | 36.8 | 25.7 | < 0.0001 | 37.3 | 25.9 | < 0.0001 |
| CVD hospitalisation 2014 | 23.7 | 37.3 | < 0.0001 | 21.3 | 27.6 | < 0.0001 |
| Influenza vaccination | 49.3 | 41.7 | < 0.0001 | 47.3 | 40.1 | < 0.0001 |
| Mean Charlson index score | 4.6 ± 2.5 | 4.5 ± 2.6 | < 0.003 | 4.0 ± 2.5 | 3.4 ± 2.6 | < 0.0001 |
| NYHA class (%) | ||||||
| I/unknown | 36.1 | 47.5 | < 0.0001 | 63.8 | 79.8 | < 0.0001 |
| II | 30.1 | 18.5 | 16.9 | 7.0 | ||
| III/IV | 23.7 | 34.1 | 19.3 | 13.2 | ||
| Comorbid condition (%) | ||||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 44.4 | 43.0 | 0.035 | 44.3 | 40.4 | < 0.0001 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 65.7 | 60.2 | < 0.0001 | 71.1 | 68.0 | < 0.0001 |
| Renal failure | 25.8 | 31.3 | < 0.0001 | 20.8 | 20.0 | 0.036 |
| COPD | 20.3 | 21.5 | 0.024 | 18.1 | 16.6 | < 0.0001 |
| Pneumonia in 2014 | 5.5 | 9.7 | < 0.0001 | 4.2 | 5.2 | < 0.0001 |
| Depression | 23.6 | 23.4 | 0.820 | 22.7 | 21.5 | 0.006 |
| Cardiovascular history (%) | ||||||
| Hypertension | 91.8 | 90.0 | < 0.0001 | 91.2 | 88.1 | < 0.0001 |
| CHF | 100 | 100 | n.a | 47.0 | 33.2 | < 0.0001 |
| CAD | 68.4 | 63.0 | < 0.0001 | 100 | 100 | n.a |
| Atrial fibrillation | 36.8 | 42.1 | < 0.0001 | 26.6 | 26.0 | 0.144 |
| Other arrhythmias | 50.4 | 43.3 | < 0.0001 | 37.8 | 31.7 | < 0.0001 |
| Valvular heart disease | 48.7 | 40.1 | < 0.0001 | 37.1 | 29.0 | < 0.0001 |
| Myocardial infarction | 24.4 | 21.4 | < 0.0001 | 32.0 | 29.4 | < 0.0001 |
Continuous variables are expressed as mean ± one SD. Categorical variables are presented as relative frequencies.
CAD coronary artery disease, CHF chronic heart failure, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CVD cardiovascular disease, DMP disease management programme, DM diabetes mellitus.
aBy limiting co-payments, hardship status avoids imposing additional financial hardship on chronically ill patients.