Table 4.
Baseline characteristics of patients in the OPTICA trial who were recruited from the screening list and those who were recruited outside of the screening list
| Characteristics | OPTICA study participants from screening list (N = 224) | OPTICA study participants not from screening list (N = 99) | P-value1 | Absolute standardized difference2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median age (IQR) | 77 (72–82) | 79 (74–84) | 0.088 | 0.183 |
| Sex | ||||
| Women (%) | 106 (47) | 40 (40) | 0.276 | 0.14 |
| Men (%) | 118 (53) | 59 (60) | ||
| Median number of chronic conditions (IQR) | 4 (3–6) | 4 (3–6) | 0.774 | 0.086 |
| Median number of medications in the last 12 months (IQR) | 6 (5–9) | 7 (3–9) | 0.464 | 0.16 |
| Health services use (in the last 12 months) | ||||
| Median number of consultations (IQR) | 17 (10–26) | 14 (9–21) | 0.031 | 0.303 |
| Median number of blood pressure measurements (IQR) | 3 (2–6) | 3 (1–5) | 0.197 | 0.034 |
| Median number of Body Mass Index measurements (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 2 (1–3) | 0.255 | 0.329 |
| Median number of HbA1c measurements (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–4) | 0.332 | 0.147 |
| Median number of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurements (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 0.901 | 0.045 |
| Median number of lipid profile measurements (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 0.667 | 0.101 |
| Lab values & vital signs (in the last 12 months) | ||||
| Median systolic blood pressure (IQR) | 137 (125–147) | 139 (130–150) | 0.397 | 0.102 |
| Median diastolic blood pressure (IQR) | 76 (70–83) | 76 (71–83) | 0.801 | 0.078 |
| Median Body Mass Index (IQR) | 29 (25–32) | 29 (25–33) | 0.902 | 0.015 |
| Median HbA1c (IQR) | 6.3 (5.8–7.0) | 6.4 (5.6–7.0) | 0.991 | 0.02 |
| Median GFR (IQR) | 66.5 (53.4–80.1) | 62.7 (48–6-78.9) | 0.264 | 0.167 |
Abbreviations: BMI Body Mass Index, IQR Interquartile range, GFR Glomerular filtration rate, HbA1c Hemoglobin A1C, OPTICA Optimizing PharmacoTherapy in older multimorbid adults In primary CAre
1For categorical variables we performed a Fisher’s exact text and for continuous variables a Kruskal–Wallis test was performed. P-values of < 0.05 represent that there is evidence for a statistically significant difference between the two groups
2An imbalance between the two groups was previously defined as an absolute standardize difference value > 0.2