Table 1. Characteristics of Veterans Not Readmitted Versus Readmitted to Hospital Within 90 Days of Discharge Following Initial Hospitalization for COVID-19, March 1–December 31, 2020a .
| Variable | Not readmitted (n = 15,007) | Readmitted within 90 days (n = 2,764) | SMDb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 67.9 (13.8) | 69.3 (13.0) | −0.10 |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 14,155 (94.0) | 2,640 (96.0) | 0.05 |
| Female | 852 (5.7) | 124 (4.5) | |
| Race | |||
| Black | 4,477 (30.0) | 834 (30.0) | 0.02 |
| Other listed races/unknown | 9,767 (5.1) | 128 (3.6) | |
| White | 763 (65.0) | 1,802 (65.0) | |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Hispanic | 1,383 (9.2) | 238 (8.6) | 0.02 |
| Non-Hispanic | 13,624 (91.0) | 2,526 (91.0) | |
| Initial COVID-19 hospital admission length of stay, days, mean (SD) | 8.6 (10.6) | 14.8 (12.7) | −0.53 |
| Ventilator use (yes) | 907 (6.0) | 377 (14.0) | 0.26 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 30 (7.1) | 29.6 (7.0) | 0.05 |
| Smoking status | |||
| Current | 1,640 (11.0) | 443 (16.0) | 0.24 |
| Former | 6,793 (45.0) | 1,365 (49.0) | |
| Never | 4,986 (33.0) | 793 (29.0) | |
| Unknown | 1,588 (11) | 163 (5.9) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 6,954 (46.0) | 1,240 (45.0) | 0.03 |
| Single/other | 8,053 (54.0) | 1,524 (55.0) | |
| Health insurance (fiscal year 2019) | |||
| VA and private | 981 (6.5) | 135 (4.9) | 0.09 |
| VA and public | 3,891 (26.0) | 779 (28.0) | |
| VA only | 9,568 (64.0) | 1,724 (62.0) | |
| VA, private and public | 567 (3.8) | 126 (4.6) | |
| VA copay | |||
| None | 8,822 (59.0) | 1,584 (57.0) | 0.08 |
| Some | 4,453 (30.0) | 906 (33.0) | |
| Full copay | 1,732 (12.0) | 274 (10.0) | |
| Discharge location | |||
| Community | 11,507 (77.0) | 2,478 (90.0) | 0.43 |
| Hospital | 343 (2.3) | 80 (2.9) | |
| Long-term care | 2,700 (18.0) | 92 (3.3) | |
| Missing | 242 (1.6) | 34 (1.2) | |
| Against medical advice | 221 (1.5) | 82 (3.0) | |
| Place of residence | |||
| Urban | 11,061 (74.0) | 2,111 (76.0) | 0.07 |
| Rural | 3,521 (23.0) | 598 (22.0) | |
| Highly rural | 425 (2.8) | 55 (2.0) | |
| Elixhauser (comorbidity) score mean (SD)c | 35.7 (25.8) | 48.1 (27.5) | −0.46 |
| COVID-19 wave | |||
| 1 (March–May 2020) | 1,798 (12.0) | 293 (11.0) | 0.37 |
| 2 (June–August 2020) | 3,336 (22.0) | 561 (20.0) | |
| 3 (September–December 2020) | 9,873 (66.0) | 1,910 (69.0) | |
Abbreviations: SMD, standardized mean difference; VA, Veterans Affairs.
a
Values are number (percentage) unless otherwise indicated.
b
SMD scores farther from 0 indicate greater difference.
c
Range is –4 to 158, Moore et al 2017 (19).