Table 1.
Characteristics of Medicare Decedents Who Enrolled with Hospice, by Dementia Status, 2004–2016
| Total Sample N = 3123 | Dementia status |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary hospice diagnosis of dementia N = 465 | Comorbid dementia N = 943 | No dementia N = 1715 | ||
| Age (mean, standard deviation) | 82.8 (7.2) | 85.5** (7.0) | 86.8** (7.3) | 79.9 (7.8) |
| Race | ||||
| Non-Hispanic Black | 11.5 | 14.0** | 15.5** | 8.7 |
| Hispanic ethnicity | 6.0 | 7.7** | 7.4** | 4.7 |
| Female | 58.6 | 69.9** | 65.1** | 52.0 |
| Education | ** | ** | ||
| Less than high school | 31.3 | 33.3 | 42.4 | 24.5 |
| High school degree | 52.2 | 50.3 | 46.6 | 55.8 |
| Some college | 2.8 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 |
| College degree | 8.3 | 8.4 | 4.7 | 10.3 |
| Graduate degree | 5.5 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 6.1 |
| Unmarried | 61.9 | 70.3** | 71.4** | 54.3 |
| Low net worth | 23.1 | 32.7** | 32.6** | 15.2 |
| Self-rated health | ** | ** | ||
| Poor/fair | 62.6 | 67.2 | 68.1 | 58.3 |
| Good | 23.0 | 19.8 | 20.5 | 25.1 |
| Very good/excellent | 14.4 | 12.9 | 11.4 | 16.5 |
| ADL impairment | 47.6 | 76.3** | 73.7** | 25.5 |
| Medicaid eligible | 18.6 | 27.5** | 28.4** | 11.0 |
| Any helper(s) | 61.7 | 88.4** | 88.8** | 39.7 |
| Comorbidities | * | ** | ||
| 0 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| 1–3 | 65.6 | 67.1 | 58.3 | 69.2 |
| 4 or more | 29.3 | 29.3 | 37.7 | 24.8 |
| Nursing home resident | 43.2 | 67.3** | 55.4** | 29.9 |
| Primary hospice diagnosis | ||||
| Cancer | 31.3 | 0.0** | 18.3** | 47.0 |
| Heart failure | 10.0 | 0.0** | 12.9 | 11.1 |
| Other | 43.7 | 0.0** | 68.7** | 41.9 |
*
p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 compared to the no dementia group.
Low net worth is defined as those in the lowest quartile for net worth (adjusted to 2012 dollars).
Comorbidities: measured as self-reported diagnosis of cancer, lung disease, heart condition, CHF, stroke, memory disease, hypertension, diabetes, and psychiatric condition.
ADL, Activity of Daily Living.