Table 1.
Patient Characteristics by Whether Requests Were Made During Primary Care Visits (N = 1,319 Visits Among 1141 Patients)
| Characteristic | Any Request | No Request | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| N, % | 867 (65.7%) | 452 (34.3%) | |
| Age, y, mean (SD) | 46.4 (15.8) | 44.2 (16.7) | .017 |
| Sex, n% | |||
| Male | 267 (30.8%) | 140 (33.6%) | .38 |
| Female | 600 (69.2%) | 302 (66.8%) | |
| Race/ethnicity, n% | |||
| White | 399 (46.0%) | 226 (50.0%) | .28 |
| Hispanic | 208 (24.0%) | 91 (20.1%) | |
| Black | 104 (12.0%) | 50 (11.1%) | |
| Asian | 53 (6.1%) | 35 (7.7%) | |
| Other/multiple races | 75 (8.7%) | 31 (6.9%) | |
| Decline to state | 28 (3.2%) | 19 (4.2%) | |
| Education, n% | |||
| Less than high school | 35 (4.0%) | 11 (2.4%) | .58 |
| High school/GED | 135 (15.6%) | 66 (14.6%) | |
| Some college | 315 (36.3%) | 173 (38.3%) | |
| College graduate | 184 (21.2%) | 101 (22.3%) | |
| Any graduate studies | 198 (22.8%) | 101 (22.3%) | |
| Self-rated health, n% | |||
| Poor | 44 (5.1%) | 13 (2.9%) | .018 |
| Fair | 160 (18.5%) | 72 (15.9%) | |
| Good | 339 (39.1%) | 158 (35.0%) | |
| Very good | 239 (27.6%) | 149 (33.0%) | |
| Excellent | 85 (9.8%) | 60 (13.3%) | |
| Mental Health Index, mean (SD) | 72.5 (19.0) | 73.9 (18.0) | .19 |
| Medical skepticism, mean (SD) | 3.03 (0.67) | 3.02 (0.61) | .78 |
| Big Five Personality Inventory scores, mean (SD) | |||
| Extraversion | 3.46 (0.78) | 3.39 (0.79) | .16 |
| Agreeableness | 4.14 (0.57) | 4.17 (0.57) | .34 |
| Conscientiousness | 3.91 (0.66) | 3.94 (0.59) | .54 |
| Neuroticism | 2.74 (0.78) | 2.71 (0.81) | .53 |
| Openness | 3.80 (0.58) | 3.78 (0.59) | .64 |
| Life satisfaction, mean (SD) | 25.1 (6.5) | 25.6 (6.4) | .17 |
| Symptom bother/worry, mean (SD) | 8.40 (2.84) | 7.57 (2.70) | <.001 |
| Body mass index, mean (SD) | 30.3 (7.5) | 29.2 (7.2) | .012 |
| Current smoker | |||
| No | 768 (88.6%) | 404 (89.4%) | .66 |
| Yes | 99 (11.4%) | 48 (10.6%) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Divorced | 125 (14.4%) | 46 (10.2%) | .18 |
| Married or domestic partnership | 361 (41.6%) | 210 (46.5%) | |
| Member of unmarried couple | 86 (9.9%) | 47 (10.4%) | |
| Never married | 207 (23.9%) | 112 (24.8%) | |
| Separated | 30 (3.5%) | 10 (2.2%) | |
| Widowed | 58 (6.7%) | 27 (6.0%) | |
| Patient satisfaction percentile rank, median (IQR) | 50.1 (24.1, 78.4) | 50.1 (25.6, 78.4) | .79 |
| Any prior encounter with visit physician | |||
| None | 472 (54.4%) | 274 (60.6%) | .032 |
| One or more | 395 (45.6%) | 178 (39.4%) |
GED, general equivalency diploma; IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviations.