Table 3.
Characteristics of patients with rheumatology encounters
| Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | 2000 | 2008 | 2019 |
| Number of Ontarians who visited a rheumatologist | 245,486 | 280,072 | 326,814 |
| Percentage of Ontarians under rheumatology care 1 | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| Age, years median (IQR) | 58 (46, 70) | 59 (48, 71) | 61 (49, 72) |
| Males (all ages) n (%) | 76,691 (31.2%) | 88,275 (31.5%) | 105,265 (32.2%) |
| 18 to 34 years, n (%) | 6,969 (9.1%) | 6,621 (7.5%) | 9,448 (9.0%) |
| 35 to 64 years, n (%) | 42,344 (55.2%) | 48,812 (55.3%) | 51,281 (48.7%) |
| 65 to 84 years, n (%) | 25,052 (32.7%) | 29,377 (33.3%) | 39,245 (37.3%) |
| >85 years, n (%) | 2,326 (3.0%) | 3,465 (3.9%) | 5,291 (5.0%) |
| Females (all ages), n (%) | 168,795 (68.8%) | 191,797 (68.5%) | 22,1549 (67.8%) |
| 18 to 34 years, n (%) | 13,299 (7.9%) | 12,401 (6.5%) | 18,663 (8.4%) |
| 35 to 64 years, n (%) | 94,724 (56.1%) | 106,812 (55.7%) | 109,661 (49.5%) |
| 65 to 84 years, n (%) | 55,154 (32.7%) | 63,972 (33.4%) | 81,117 (36.6%) |
| >85 years, n (%) | 5,618 (3.3%) | 8,612 (4.5%) | 12,108 (5.5%) |
| Ratio (females/males) | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
1
18 years and older for population denominator.
IQR = interquartile range.