Table 1 Sociodemographic, functional and clinical characteristics of medicare beneficiaries (2001–2008) by age group
Variable | Total N = 30,117 | Age < 65 N (column weighted %) 5201 (16.3) | Age 65–74 N (column weighted %) 11,289 (47.5) | Age ≥ 75 N (column weighted %) 13,627 (36.2) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | <.0001 | ||||
 Male | 13,649 (45.2) | 2853 (52.6) | 5360 (46.3) | 5436 (40.3) |  |
 Female | 16,468 (54.8) | 2348 (47.4) | 5929 (53.7) | 8191 (59.7) |  |
Race/Ethnicity | <.0001 | ||||
 Non-Hispanic White | 23,893 (79.2) | 3459 (67.3) | 9017 (79.9) | 11,417 (83.7) |  |
 Non-Hispanic Black | 2966 (9.7) | 1007 (18.6) | 1007 (8.7) | 952 (7.0) |  |
 Hispanic | 2372 (7.9) | 580 (11.2) | 913 (8.0) | 879 (6.3) |  |
 Other | 886 (3.2) | 155 (2.9) | 352 (3.4) | 379 (2.9) |  |
Living arrangement | <.0001 | ||||
 Retirement community | 1905 (5.6) | 101 (2.2) | 430 (3.6) | 1374 (9.7) |  |
 With spouse | 14,124 (51.2) | 1649 (39.1) | 7004 (62.6) | 5471 (41.6) |  |
 With children | 3158 (9.5) | 658 (11.4) | 802 (7.0) | 1698 (12.1) |  |
 With others | 2762 (7.8) | 1597 (23.6) | 589 (5.2) | 576 (4.2) |  |
 Alone | 8168 (25.9) | 1196 (23.8) | 2464 (21.6) | 4508 (32.5) |  |
Dual enrollment in Medicare and Medicaid | <.0001 | ||||
 No | 24,292 (83.5) | 2409 (56.4) | 9984 (89.4) | 11,899 (87.8) |  |
 Yes | 5825 (16.5) | 2792 (43.6) | 1305 (10.6) | 1728 (12.2) |  |
Education | <.0001 | ||||
 High school diploma or above | 21,252 (72.8) | 3527 (69.1) | 8543 (77.4) | 9182 (68.5) |  |
 No high school diploma | 8865 (27.2) | 1674 (30.9) | 2746 (22.6) | 4445 (31.5) |  |
Living in metropolitan area | <.0001 | ||||
 No | 7942 (25.0) | 1598 (29.0) | 3092 (25.1) | 3252 (23.1) |  |
 Yes | 22,175 (75.0) | 3603 (71.0) | 8197 (74.9) | 10,375 (76.9) |  |
Proxy report | <.0001 | ||||
 No | 27,492 (92.8) | 4277 (87.2) | 10,757 (95.4) | 12,458 (91.9) |  |
 Yes | 2625 (7.2) | 924 (12.8) | 532 (4.6) | 1169 (8.1) |  |
Vision impairment | <.0001 | ||||
 No | 27,674 (92.7) | 4621 (87.9) | 10,752 (95.8) | 12,301 (90.8) |  |
 Yes | 2443 (7.3) | 580 (12.1) | 537 (4.2) | 1326 (9.2) |  |
Hearing impairment | <.0001 | ||||
 No | 27,934 (93.5) | 4890 (93.8) | 10,745 (95.5) | 12,299 (90.8) |  |
 Yes | 2183 (6.5) | 311 (6.2) | 544 (4.5) | 1328 (9.2) |  |
Cognitive, developmental and psychiatric disordersa | <.0001 | ||||
 No | 25,662 (87.3) | 2766 (60.9) | 10,442 (93.0) | 12,454 (91.8) |  |
 Yes | 4455 (12.7) | 2435 (39.1) | 847 (7.0) | 1173 (8.2) |  |
Average number of comorbiditiesb | 2.2 ± 0 | 2.3 ± 0 | 2.1 ± 0 | 2.4 ± 0 | <.0001 |
Activity of Daily Living (ADL) Stages | <.0001 | ||||
 0 | 19,874 (68.3) | 2599 (45.4) | 8846 (79.9) | 8429 (63.5) |  |
 I | 5181 (16.5) | 1156 (25.2) | 1398 (11.8) | 2627 (18.9) |  |
 II | 2622 (7.9) | 656 (13.7) | 568 (4.5) | 1398 (9.6) |  |
 III | 2047 (6.2) | 656 (13.5) | 417 (3.3) | 974 (6.7) |  |
 IV | 393 (1.1) | 134 (2.3) | 60 (0.5) | 199 (1.3) |  |
Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) stages | <.0001 | ||||
 0 | 16,911 (59.4) | 1339 (23.8) | 8169 (74.0) | 7403 (56.2) |  |
 I | 5332 (17.6) | 1063 (24.9) | 1670 (14.2) | 2599 (18.8) |  |
 II | 2979 (9.5) | 1046 (22.2) | 675 (5.6) | 1258 (8.9) |  |
 III | 4089 (11.4) | 1500 (25.0) | 665 (5.3) | 1924 (13.2) |  |
 IV | 806 (2.1) | 253 (4.0) | 110 (0.8) | 443 (2.9) |  |