Characteristics of the study cohort
| CHARACTERISTICS | TOTAL | ED NONUSERS (NO VISIT) | ED USERS (≥ 1 VISITS) | P VALUE* | ED OCCASIONAL USERS (1–3 VISITS) | ED FREQUENT USERS (≥ 4 VISITS) | P VALUE* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total, n (%) | 99 400 (100.0) | 73 511 (74.0) | 25 889 (26.0) | NA | 21 326 (21.5) | 4563 (4.6) | NA |
| No. of ED visits, mean (SD) | 0.62 (1.62) | 0.00 (0.00) | 2.40 (2.41) | NA | 1.58 (0.73) | 6.19 (3.61) | NA |
| Sex, n (%) | < .001 | .284 | |||||
| • Female | 55 018 (55.4) | 40 241 (54.7) | 14 777 (57.1) | 12 140 (56.9) | 2637 (57.8) | ||
| • Male | 44 382 (44.6) | 33 270 (45.3) | 11 112 (42.9) | 9186 (43.1) | 1926 (42.2) | ||
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 64.7 (13.0) | 64.4 (12.8) | 65.6 (13.8) | < .001 | 65.4 (13.6) | 66.6 (14.5) | < .001 |
| Comorbidity index score,† mean (SD) | 1.67 (2.01) | 1.53 (1.85) | 2.06 (2.35) | < .001 | 1.92 (2.23) | 2.67 (2.80) | < .001 |
| Previous hospitalization, n (%) | 29 231 (29.4) | 18 678 (25.4) | 10 553 (40.8) | < .001 | 8095 (38.0) | 2458 (53.9) | < .001 |
| Immigration score,‡ mean (SD) | 0.16 (3.70) | 0.08 (3.69) | 0.39 (3.73) | < .001 | 0.36 (3.74) | 0.54 (3.69) | .003 |
| Material deprivation score,§ mean (SD) | 0.46 (1.83) | 0.40 (1.83) | 0.60 (1.82) | < .001 | 0.58 (1.83) | 0.70 (1.77) | < .001 |
| Social deprivation score,§ mean (SD) | 0.38 (1.96) | 0.31 (1.95) | 0.57 (1.95) | < .001 | 0.53 (1.96) | 0.77 (1.94) | < .001 |
| Distance to nearest ED in km, mean (SD) | 4.51 (4.04) | 4.62 (4.11) | 4.20 (3.85) | < .001 | 4.27 (3.89) | 3.88 (3.65) | < .001 |
| Distance to nearest ED in km, n (%) | < .001 | < .001 | |||||
| • < 1 | 10 183 (10.2) | 7107 (9.7) | 3076 (11.9) | 2452 (11.5) | 624 (13.7) | ||
| • ≥ 1 to < 2 | 18 411 (18.5) | 13 311 (18.1) | 5100 (19.7) | 4158 (19.5) | 942 (20.6) | ||
| • ≥ 2 to < 3 | 19 194 (19.3) | 14 010 (19.1) | 5184 (20.0) | 4208 (19.7) | 976 (21.4) | ||
| • ≥ 3 to < 5 | 20 761 (20.9) | 15 382 (20.9) | 5379 (20.8) | 4466 (20.9) | 913 (20.0) | ||
| • ≥ 5 to < 10 | 21 233 (21.4) | 16 278 (22.1) | 4955 (19.1) | 4177 (19.6) | 778 (17.1) | ||
| • ≥ 10 | 9618 (9.7) | 7423 (10.1) | 2195 (8.5) | 1865 (8.7) | 330 (7.2) |
DA—dissemination area, ED—emergency department, NA—not applicable.
↵* P values are associated with t tests (continuous variables) or χ2 tests (categorical variables).
↵† Higher scores indicate greater comorbidity.
↵‡ Higher scores indicate higher levels of immigration in the DA.
↵§ Higher scores indicate greater deprivation in the DA.