Table 3.
The effect of living alone on ED admission outcomes among older adults, stratified by the presence of multimorbidity
| ED admission risk [OR (95 % CI)]° |
Inpatient days [Mean increase (95 % CI)]° |
Inpatient costs (USD)° [Mean increase (95 % CI)]° | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Without multimorbidity | |||
| Living with others (n=5,854) | 1.00 (Ref.) | 0.00 (Ref.) | 0.00 (Ref.) |
| Living alone (n=472) |
1.32 (0.97-1.79) |
0.76** (0.21-1.31) |
365* (18-712) |
| With multimorbidity | |||
| Living with others (n=9,619) | 1.00 (Ref.) | 0.00 (Ref.) | 0.00 (Ref.) |
| Living alone (n=840) |
1.26* (1.03 – 1.54) |
0.50* (0.03 - 0.98) |
249 (-119 – 615) |
°Adjusted for age, gender, education, physical function, instrumental limitations, depressive symptoms, mild cognitive impairment, social support, social activity, primary care visits, ED admission outcomes for the year preceding interview date and mortality within analysis period. Among those without multimorbidity, participants living with others (reference group) had on average 0.99 inpatient days and mean inpatient cost of $680 USD. Among those with multimorbidity, participants living with others (reference group) others had on average 1.77 inpatient days and mean inpatient cost of $1,414 USD
*p-value<0.05; **p-value<0.01 ***p-value<0.001