Table 1 Characteristics of the base cohort (N = 6,346)
Characteristics | n (%) |
|---|---|
Sex | Â |
Female | 3,931 (61.9) |
Male | 2,415 (38.1) |
Age (years), mean ± SD | 82.9 ± 8.6 |
65–74 | 860 (13.6) |
75–84 | 1,649 (26.0) |
85–94 | 2,893 (45.6) |
≥ 95 | 944 (14.9) |
Major comorbidities | Â |
Hypertension | 3,290 (51.8) |
Dementia | 2,201 (34.7) |
Acute infection | 2,095 (33.0) |
Stroke | 1,985 (31.3) |
Eye disease | 1,799 (28.3) |
Renal disease | 1,671 (26.3) |
Diabetes | 1,648 (26.0) |
Cholesterol | 1,431 (22.5) |
Fractures | 1,336 (21.1) |
Psychiatric | 1,051 (16.6) |
Arthritis | 989 (15.6) |
Cancer | 727 (11.5) |
Anemia | 682 (10.7) |
Ischemic heart disease | 659 (10.4) |
No. of concurrent medications, (mean ± SD) | 6.8 ± 7.4 |
0 | 2,786 (43.9) |
1–4 | 294 (4.6) |
5–9 | 879 (13.9) |
10–14 | 1,273 (20.1) |
≥ 15 | 1,114 (17.6) |
No. of classes of concurrent medications, (mean ± SD) | 5.2 ± 6.3 |
0 | 2,786 (43.9) |
1–5 | 527 (8.3) |
6–10 | 1,354 (21.3) |
11–15 | 1,193 (18.8) |
≥ 16 | 486 (7.7) |
Prescribing sources of medications* | Â |
Public hospitals only | 3062 (86.0) |
Private hospitals only | 147 (4.1) |
Public and private hospitals | 351 (9.9) |