Skip to main content

Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of older adults with multimorbidity by the number of ED visits (n = 28,917)

From: Social determinants of health and emergency department visits among older adults with multimorbidity: insight from 2010 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey

Characteristics

Total

No ED visits

≥ 1 ED visits

P

Weighted, n

9 589 647

6 583 984

3 005 662

 

Unweighted, n

28 917

19 661

9 256

 

Age (years, mean ± SD)

68.04 ± 10.66

68.09 ± 9.88

67.94 ± 10.80

0.339

50–64

40.03

39.01

42.25

< 0.001

≥65

59.97

60.99

57.75

 

Sex (%)

   

0.001

Female

56.82

56.04

58.53

 

Male

43.18

43.96

41.47

 

Marital status (%)

   

< 0.001

Not married

58.70

55.96

64.69

 

Race/ethnicity (%)

   

<0.001

Non-Hispanic White

76.44

77.90

73.25

 

Hispanic

7.50

7.16

8.22

 

Non-Hispanic Black

12.79

11.42

15.81

 

Non-Hispanic Asian

2.41

2.73

1.69

 

Other races

0.87

0.79

1.03

 

Education (%)

   

< 0.001

≥ Bachelor’s degree

22.18

24.00

18.19

 

Some college

28.89

29.18

28.25

 

≤ High school

48.93

46.82

53.55

 

Poverty-income ratio (PIR)*(%)

   

< 0.001

PIR ≥ 2.00

59.08

63.20

50.05

 

PIR 1-1.99

24.71

23.34

27.70

 

PIR < 1

16.21

13.46

22.25

 

Employment status (%)

   

< 0.001

Unemployed

70.79

67.93

77.08

 

Health insurance status (%)

   

0.934

Uninsured

4.31

4.30

4.33

 

Have usual place for medical care (%)

97.22

96.95

97.82

< 0.001

Region of residence (%)

Northeast

17.20

17.1

17.44

0.007

Midwest

24.36

23.85

25.50

 

South

39.39

39.43

39.30

 

West

19.04

19.63

17.76

 

Perceived health status (%)

   

< 0.001

Excellent

6.81

8.27

3.61

 

Very Good

21.39

24.77

14.00

 

Good

35.27

37.25

30.94

 

Fair

25.35

22.20

32.24

 

Poor

11.18

7.51

19.21

 

Chronic conditions (%)

Diabetes

36.76

35.79

38.89

< 0.001

Hypertension

82.96

83.05

82.75

0.568

Asthma

25.36

23.95

28.42

< 0.001

Stroke

12.55

10.23

17.63

< 0.001

Cancer

31.54

32.05

30.44

0.022

Arthritis

16.88

14.47

22.15

< 0.001

COPD†

28.8

24.86

37.44

< 0.001

Heart disease‡

43.13

39.10

51.95

< 0.001

Weak/failing kidneys in 12 m

8.22

6.21

12.64

< 0.001

Any liver conditions

3.86

3.24

5.19

< 0.001

Number of chronic conditions

(mean ± SD)

2.90 ± 1.18

2.73 ± 0.99

3.27 ± 1.31

< 0.001

2

48.27

54.30

48.27

<0.001

3–4

42.09

39.37

42.09

 

≥ 5

9.65

6.33

9.65

 
  1. SD, standard deviation; ED, emergency department; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Weighted sample demographic and characteristics were presented and used for inferential statistics. *PIR < 1 = below poverty level; PIR 1-1.99 = between 100-199% above poverty level; PIR ≥ 2 = 200% or above poverty level. †COPD is defined as ever being told they had COPD, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis. ‡Heart disease is defined as ever being told they had coronary heart disease, heart attack, or other heart condition/disease
Back to article page

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

Contact us