Table 1.
Characteristics of Hospitalizations of Medicare Beneficiaries with and without Diagnosed Dementia
| Patients with dementia (N=211,698) |
Patients without dementia (N=886,411) |
P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, median (IQR), years | 83 (76–89) | 76 (79–83) | <.001 |
| Female, No. (%) | 130162 (61.5) | 487668 (55.0) | <.001 |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | <.001 | ||
| White | 163800 (77.4) | 736702 (83.1) | |
| Black | 26838 (12.7) | 76606 (8.6) | |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 4293 (2.0) | 15288 (1.7) | |
| Hispanic | 13974 (6.6) | 41165 (4.6) | |
| Other | 2793 (1.3) | 16650 (1.9) | |
| Medicaid eligible, No. (%) | 76976 (36.4) | 150605 (17.0) | |
| Chronic conditions, No. (%) | |||
| Acute myocardial infarction | 6185 (2.9) | 17147 (1.9) | <.001 |
| Alcohol use disorders | 9182 (4.3) | 24973 (2.8) | <.001 |
| Anemia | 119838 (56.6) | 336700 (38.0) | <.001 |
| Anxiety disorders | 72012 (34.0) | 156022 (17.6) | <.001 |
| Asthma | 22259 (10.5) | 81226 (9.2) | <.001 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 49629 (23.4) | 163464 (18.4) | <.001 |
| Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder | 3721 (1.8) | 3146 (0.4) | <.001 |
| Benign prostatic hyperplasia | 30563 (14.4) | 92880 (10.5) | <.001 |
| Bipolar disorder | 16437 (7.8) | 17179 (1.9) | <.001 |
| Blindness and visual impairment | 7608 (3.6) | 10410 (1.2) | <.001 |
| Breast cancer | 8861 (4.2) | 37478 (4.2) | .38 |
| Cataract | 36732 (17.4) | 180027 (20.3) | <.001 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 107662 (50.9) | 310144 (35.0) | <.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 67456 (31.9) | 212719 (24.0) | <.001 |
| Colorectal cancer | 5165 (2.4) | 20823 (2.3) | .01 |
| Deafness and hearing impairment | 25030 (11.8) | 60478 (6.8) | <.001 |
| Diabetes | 100519 (47.5) | 354668 (40.0) | <.001 |
| Endometrial cancer | 1151 (0.5) | 5118 (0.6) | .07 |
| Epilepsy | 18732 (8.8) | 20701 (2.3) | <.001 |
| Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and fatigue | 52961 (25.0) | 181107 (20.4) | <.001 |
| Glaucoma | 22138 (10.5) | 99417 (11.2) | <.001 |
| Heart failure | 99353 (46.9) | 267053 (30.1) | <.001 |
| Hip/pelvic fracture | 7836 (3.7) | 9394 (1.1) | <.001 |
| HIV/AIDS | 436 (0.2) | 1522 (0.2) | .001 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 135880 (64.2) | 538921 (60.8) | <.001 |
| Hypertension | 185360 (87.6) | 677425 (76.4) | <.001 |
| Hypothyroidism | 59798 (28.2) | 183322 (20.7) | <.001 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 127229 (60.1) | 419168 (47.3) | <.001 |
| Leukemias and lymphomas | 4514 (2.1) | 23326 (2.6) | <.001 |
| Liver disease | 14225 (6.7) | 54765 (6.2) | <.001 |
| Lung cancer | 3196 (1.5) | 18585 (2.1) | <.001 |
| Migraine and chronic headache | 5779 (2.7) | 21451 (2.4) | <.001 |
| Mobility impairments | 24754 (11.7) | 31834 (3.6) | <.001 |
| Multiple sclerosis and transverse myelitis | 1555 (0.7) | 4338 (0.5) | <.001 |
| Obesity | 37581 (17.8) | 175557 (19.8) | <.001 |
| Opioid use disorder | 6073 (2.9) | 15829 (1.8) | <.001 |
| Osteoporosis | 30448 (14.4) | 78468 (8.9) | <.001 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 81109 (38.3) | 192917 (21.8) | <.001 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | 2008 (0.9) | 5329 (0.6) | <.001 |
| Pressure and chronic ulcers | 41501 (19.6) | 77551 (8.7) | <.001 |
| Prostate cancer | 9444 (4.5) | 41734 (4.7) | <.001 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis | 116689 (55.1) | 414225 (46.7) | <.001 |
| Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders | 36664 (17.3) | 18614 (2.1) | <.001 |
| Spinal cord injury | 2968 (1.4) | 5178 (0.6) | <.001 |
| Stroke/transient ischemic attack | 35007 (16.5) | 54419 (6.1) | <.001 |
| Tobacco use | 22822 (10.8) | 92646 (10.5) | <.001 |
| Traumatic brain injury | 4387 (2.1) | 3136 (0.4) | <.001 |
| Viral hepatitis | 3547 (1.7) | 12389 (1.4) | <.001 |
| Frailty category, No. (%) | <.001 | ||
| Not frail | 6768 (3.2) | 90172 (10.2) | |
| Prefrail | 56310 (26.6) | 444730 (50.2) | |
| Mildly frail | 96062 (45.4) | 265501 (30.0) | |
| Moderately/severely frail | 52558 (24.8) | 86008 (9.7) | |
| Hospitalization factors | |||
| Admission source, No. (%) | <.001 | ||
| Community | 181079 (85.5) | 801601 (90.4) | |
| Hospital transfer | 11717 (5.5) | 62287 (7.0) | |
| Nursing facility | 18327 (8.7) | 20726 (2.3) | |
| Unknown | 575 (0.3) | 1797 (0.2) | |
| Length of stay, median (IQR), days | 4 (3–6) | 3 (2–6) | <.001 |
| Specialty cohort, No. (%) | <.001 | ||
| Medicine | 79412 (37.5) | 335452 (37.8) | |
| Cardiorespiratory | 37109 (17.5) | 141732 (16.0) | |
| Cardiovascular | 17788 (8.4) | 120681 (13.6) | |
| Neurology | 18554 (8.8) | 64904 (7.3) | |
| Surgery/gynecology | 58835 (27.8) | 223642 (25.2) | |
| Intensive care unit, No. (%) | 58741 (27.8) | 247813 (28.0) | .05 |
| Delirium, No. (%) | 37453 (17.7) | 56100 (6.3) | <.001 |
| Discharge factors | |||
| Weekend discharge, No. (%) | 35374 (16.7) | 178666 (20.2) | <.001 |
| Discharge to skilled nursing facility, No. (%) | 89173 (42.1) | 191156 (21.6) | <.001 |
Note: P-values presented for comparison of characteristics of hospitalizations of patients with and without dementia using χ2 tests for categorical variables and t tests for continuous variables