Table 3. Univariate analysis with characteristics of patients and GPs in the oral nutritional supplements (ONS) user and high ONS user groups.
| <660 ONS units | ≥660 ONS units | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | n | % | n | % | P-value |
| Patients | |||||
| S ex | |||||
| Male | 181 | 45.6 | 216 | 54.4 | |
| Female | 274 | 53.2 | 236 | 46.8 | 0.023 |
| A r ea ( n = 912 ) | |||||
| South/south east Dublin | 84 | 57.5 | 62 | 42.5 | |
| West/south west Dublin | 184 | 48.7 | 194 | 51.3 | |
| North/north west Dublin | 187 | 48.2 | 201 | 51.8 | 0.130 |
| Residential status | |||||
| Living in a private nursing home | 90 | 53.9 | 77 | 46.1 | |
| Living independently | 365 | 49.0 | 380 | 51.0 | 0.270 |
| A ge category | |||||
| ≥18 to 44 years | 34 | 33.7 | 67 | 66.3 | |
| ≥45 to 64 years | 63 | 31.7 | 136 | 68.3 | |
| ≥65 years | 358 | 58.7 | 252 | 41.3 | <0.001 |
| Type of ONS a | |||||
| ONS type 1 | 239 | 45.7 | 284 | 54.3 | |
| ONS type 2 | 208 | 64.0 | 117 | 36.0 | <0.001 |
| G eneral p olypharmacy | |||||
| No polypharmacy (<5 drugs) | 128 | 42.7 | 172 | 57.3 | |
| Polypharmacy (≥5 drugs) | 222 | 53.4 | 194 | 46.6 | |
| Excessive polypharmacy (≥10 drugs) | 105 | 53.6 | 91 | 46.4 | 0.009 |
| CNS drug dispensed b | |||||
| No CNS drug | 125 | 55.3 | 101 | 44.7 | |
| CNS drug (<5 drugs) | 302 | 50.2 | 299 | 49.8 | |
| CNS polypharmacy or excessive polypharmacy (≥5 drugs) | 28 | 32.9 | 57 | 67.1 | 0.002 |
| C irculatory drug dispensed c | |||||
| No circulatory drug | 146 | 41.7 | 204 | 58.3 | |
| Circulatory drug (<5 drugs) | 207 | 53.2 | 182 | 46.8 | |
| Circulatory polypharmacy or excessive polypharmacy (≥5 drugs) | 102 | 59.0 | 71 | 41.0 | <0.001 |
| GP s | |||||
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 294 | 49.5 | 300 | 50.5 | |
| Female | 161 | 50.6 | 157 | 49.4 | 0.781 |
| A ge category | |||||
| ≥18 to 44 years | 113 | 46.3 | 131 | 53.7 | |
| ≥45 to 64 years | 263 | 51.8 | 245 | 48.2 | |
| ≥65 years | 79 | 49.4 | 81 | 50.6 | 0.370 |
| A rea | |||||
| South/south east Dublin | 102 | 54.0 | 87 | 46.0 | |
| West/south west Dublin | 161 | 49.1 | 167 | 50.9 | |
| North/north west Dublin | 182 | 47.6 | 200 | 52.4 | |
| Other | 10 | 76.9 | 3 | 23.1 | 0.116 |
aThis variable only includes those patients who were on one ONS type, ONS type 1 includes the two most common type of ONS as per Figure 2 (high energy and very high energy standard protein sip feed with or without fibre), ONS type 2 includes the other ONS types represented in Figure 2 (high energy shots, high protein sip feed, high energy semi-solid, textured modified high energy/high protein sip feeds). bCNS medication include drugs to treat anxiety; insomnia; psychoses; mood disorders; obsessive compulsive disorder; nausea; vomiting; vertigo; epilepsy and seizures; Parkinson's; Alzheimer's; multiple sclerosis; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and narcolepsy. cCirculatory medication include drugs to treat hypertension; oedema; heart failure; arrhythmias; angina; prevent myocardial infarction, stroke, and vascular events; hypercholesterolaemia; vascular diseases such as Raynaud's and pulmonary arterial hypertension; haemorrhage; anaemia and neutropenia.
CNS = central nervous system. GP = general practitioner. ONS = oral nutritional supplements.