Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Patients Who Received Palliative Care in the Last Year of Life in Ontario Between 2010 and 2017 by Illness Type According to Their Cause of Deatha.
| Characteristic | Cause of death | Standardized difference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronic organ failureb (n = 21 054) | Dementia (n = 14 033) | Cancer (n = 110 622) | Chronic organ failure vs cancer | Dementia vs cancer | |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 85 (78-90) | 88 (83-92) | 74 (65-83) | 0.89 | 1.47 |
| Female sex | 11 495 (54.6) | 8993 (64.1) | 53 341 (48.2) | 0.13 | 0.32 |
| Rural residence | 2372 (11.3) | 1048 (7.5) | 15 176 (13.7) | 0.07 | 0.20 |
| Income quintile | |||||
| 1 | 5173 (24.6) | 3350 (23.9) | 24 274 (21.9) | 0.06 | 0.05 |
| 2 | 4554 (21.6) | 3017 (21.5) | 23 809 (21.5) | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 4061 (19.3) | 2671 (19.0) | 21 612 (19.5) | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| 4 | 3635 (17.3) | 2456 (17.5) | 20 653 (18.7) | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| 5 | 3550 (16.9) | 2487 (17.7) | 19 989 (18.1) | 0.03 | 0.01 |
| Missing | 81 (0.4) | 52 (0.4) | 285 (0.3) | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Hospital frailty risk score | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 11.5 (8.9) | 14.3 (9.8) | 5.0 (6.0) | 0.85 | 1.14 |
| Median (IQR) | 10 (5-17) | 13 (7-20) | 3 (0-7) | 0.92 | 1.17 |
| Chronic conditions | |||||
| Arrhythmia | 7803 (37.1) | 2782 (19.8) | 15 107 (13.7) | 0.56 | 0.17 |
| Metastatic cancer | 767 (3.6) | 127 (0.9) | 51 621 (46.7) | 1.14 | 1.27 |
| COPD | 7122 (33.8) | 1200 (8.6) | 13 541 (12.2) | 0.53 | 0.12 |
| Congestive heart failure | 8204 (39.0) | 1884 (13.4) | 8876 (8.0) | 0.78 | 0.18 |
| Coronary artery disease | 5299 (25.2) | 1717 (12.2) | 12 974 (11.7) | 0.35 | 0.02 |
| Dementia | 3786 (18.0) | 8137 (58.0) | 4834 (4.4) | 0.44 | 1.42 |
| Diabetes | 6290 (29.9) | 1922 (13.7) | 24 560 (22.2) | 0.26 | 0.13 |
| Hypertension | 18 434 (87.6) | 11 593 (82.6) | 75 771 (68.5) | 0.47 | 0.33 |
| Kidney disease | 4545 (21.6) | 1110 (7.9) | 5967 (5.4) | 0.49 | 0.10 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 812 (3.9) | 403 (2.9) | 2841 (2.6) | 0.07 | 0.02 |
| Stroke | 5285 (25.1) | 1514 (10.8) | 6227 (5.6) | 0.56 | 0.19 |
| Prior health care use,c median (IQR) | |||||
| No. of unique prescription medications | 18 (11-25) | 16 (10-22) | 11 (0-19) | 0.61 | 0.53 |
| Emergency department visitsd | 2 (1-4) | 1 (0-3) | 2 (1-3) | 0.09 | 0.38 |
| Hospitalizations | 1 (1-2) | 1 (0-1) | 1 (0-2) | 0.21 | 0.34 |
Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IQR, interquartile range.
a
Data are presented as number (percentage) of patients unless otherwise indicated.
b
Chronic organ failure included heart failure, COPD, end-stage kidney disease, cirrhosis, and stroke.
c
Prior health care use in the 12 months before the last 6 months of life.
d
Emergency department visits not resulting in hospital admission.