TABLE 1.
Cohort characteristics at index
| Characteristics | IRHH a (n = 38 617) | Housed Ontarians (n = 15 022 369) | Matched housed group b (n = 186 858) | STD difference (IRHH vs housed) | P value (IRHH vs housed) | STD difference (IRHH vs matched) | P value (IRHH vs matched) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age group, n (%) | |||||||
| Youth (<25 y) | 7429 (19.2%) | 4 117 377 (27.4%) | 36 311 (19.4%) | 0.19 | <0.001 | 0.01 | 0.008 |
| Young adults (25‐39 y) | 14 021 (36.3%) | 3 254 132 (21.7%) | 66 192 (35.4%) | 0.33 | 0.02 | ||
| Older adults (40‐64 y) | 14 557 (37.7%) | 5 108 358 (34.0%) | 71 300 (38.2%) | 0.08 | 0.01 | ||
| Seniors (65+ y) | 2610 (6.8%) | 2 542 502 (16.9%) | 13 055 (7.0%) | 0.32 | 0.01 | ||
| Female, n (%) | 12 346 (32.0%) | 7 620 547 (50.7%) | 61 569 (32.9%) | 0.39 | <0.001 | 0.02 | <0.001 |
| Income quintile c | |||||||
| Quintile 1 (lowest) | 16 091 (41.7%) | 2 942 457 (19.6%) | 186 858 (100.0%) | 0.49 | <0.001 | N/A | N/A |
| Quintile 2 | 8126 (21.0%) | 2 923 710 (19.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.04 | |||
| Quintile 3 | 7130 (18.5%) | 3 176 456 (21.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.07 | |||
| Quintile 4 | 3807 (9.9%) | 2 983 780 (19.9%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.28 | |||
| Quintile 5 (highest) | 3463 (9.0%) | 2 995 966 (19.9%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.32 | |||
| Level of rurality, n (%) | |||||||
| Large CMA (>500 K) | 22 004 (57.0%) | 9 184 393 (61.1%) | 107 068 (57.3%) | 0.08 | <0.001 | 0.01 | <0.001 |
| Medium CMA (100‐500 K) | 10 237 (26.5%) | 3 060 852 (20.4%) | 49 275 (26.4%) | 0.15 | 0 | ||
| Small CMA (10‐100 K) | 2963 (7.7%) | 1 013 810 (6.7%) | 14 487 (7.8%) | 0.04 | 0 | ||
| Non‐CMA regions | 2343 (6.1%) | 1 291 557 (8.6%) | 11 579 (6.2%) | 0.10 | 0.01 | ||
| Unknown or missing | 1070 (2.8%) | 471 757 (3.1%) | 4449 (2.4%) | 0.02 | 0.02 | ||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score, n (%) d | |||||||
| No hospitalizations | 28 658 (74.2%) | 13 612 789 (90.6%) | 142 877 (76.5%) | 0.44 | <0.001 | 0.05 | <0.001 |
| 0 | 6647 (17.2%) | 1 028 454 (6.8%) | 28 502 (15.3%) | 0.32 | 0.05 | ||
| 1 | 1699 (4.4%) | 161 215 (1.1%) | 7789 (4.2%) | 0.20 | 0.01 | ||
| 2+ | 1613 (4.2%) | 219 911 (1.5%) | 7690 (4.1%) | 0.16 | 0 | ||
| Specific comorbidities, n (%) | |||||||
| Asthma or COPD | 8799 (22.8%) | 2 256 288 (15.0%) | 34 994 (18.7%) | 0.20 | <0.001 | 0.1 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 4142 (10.7%) | 1 422 309 (9.5%) | 22 929 (12.3%) | 0.04 | <0.001 | 0.05 | <0.001 |
| Congestive heart failure | 841 (2.2%) | 253 322 (1.7%) | 4179 (2.2%) | 0.04 | <0.001 | 0 | 0.481 |
| Hypertension | 5793 (15.0%) | 3 041 309 (20.2%) | 35 948 (19.2%) | 0.14 | <0.001 | 0.11 | <0.001 |
| Chronic liver disease | 4547 (11.8%) | 322 277 (2.1%) | 8836 (4.7%) | 0.39 | <0.001 | 0.26 | <0.001 |
| Recent cancer diagnosis d | 209 (0.5%) | 127 320 (0.8%) | 2717 (1.5%) | 0.04 | <0.001 | 0.09 | <0.001 |
| Care for mental health disorders, n (%) e | |||||||
| Psychotic disorders | 9782 (25.3%) | 168 340 (1.1%) | 7002 (3.7%) | 0.77 | <0.001 | 0.64 | <0.001 |
| Non‐psychotic disorders | 18 666 (48.3%) | 1 704 326 (11.3%) | 37 315 (20.0%) | 0.88 | <0.001 | 0.63 | <0.001 |
| Substance use disorders | 15 810 (40.9%) | 198 616 (1.3%) | 11 932 (6.4%) | 1.11 | <0.001 | 0.89 | <0.001 |
| No. of outpatient visits, median (IQR) e | 13 (3–36) | 4 (1–10) | 7 (2–17) | 0.62 | <0.001 | 0.36 | <0.001 |
STD = standardized, CMA = census metropolitan area, COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, IQR = interquartile range.
a
Individuals with a recent history of homelessness (IRHH).
b
Community‐dwelling Ontarians living in income quintile 1 neighborhoods with recent contact with the healthcare system who are matched to individuals with a recent history of homelessness (5:1) on age, sex, level of rurality, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score.
c
Dissemination area level income quintile, derived from 2016 Census data. Missing and unknown values were recoded to income quintile 3.
d
Occuring or calculated in the past 2 years.
e
Occuring in the past year.