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Table 1 Sample characteristics, by status (non-frequent attenders vs. frequent attenders), wave 2 (2002) to wave 4 (2011)

From: Which factors lead to frequent attendance in the outpatient sector among individuals in the second half of life? Evidence from a population-based longitudinal study in Germany

Variables

GP visits

Specialist visits

Non-frequent attenders (n = 541)

Frequent attenders (n = 508)

p-value

Non-frequent attenders (n = 947)

Frequent attenders (n = 915)

p-value

Age in years: Mean (SD)

66.9 (10.6)

66.3 (65.4)

0.42

64.0 (10.9)

64.0 (10.9)

0.93

Married, living together with spouse (Ref.: Others): N (%)

373 (51.4%)

353 (48.6%)

0.85

704 (50.8%)

681 (49.2%)

0.97

Employment status: N (%)

  

0.05

  

0.34

- Working

125 (53.2%)

110 (46.8%)

 

312 (52.1%)

287 (47.9%)

 

- Retired

368 (52.8%)

329 (47.2%)

 

534 (51.1%)

511 (48.9%)

 

- Not employed

48 (41.0%)

69 (59.0%)

 

101 (46.3%)

117 (53.7%)

 

Household net income in Euro

2443.9 (1902.5)

2507.7 (2585.4)

0.65

2690.7 (3528.8)

2681.9 (1700.0)

0.95

Number of physical illnesses: Mean (SD); Range

3.1 (2.0)

3.4 (1.9)

< 0.05

2.5 (1.7)

2.8 (1.7)

< 0.001

Physical functioning (from 0 = worst to 100 = best)

79.3 (23.1)

74.2 (25.2)

< 0.001

83.2 (21.7)

79.7 (23.1)

< 0.001

Self-rated health (from 1 = very good to 5 = very bad)

2.7 (0.8)

2.9 (0.8)

< 0.001

2.5 (0.8)

2.6 (0.8)

< 0.001

Absence of depression (CES-D ≥ 18)

501 (52.5%)

453 (47.5%)

0.05

887 (51.3%)

842 (48.7%)

0.17

Cognitive function (higher values reflect better cognitive function, ranging from 1 to 92)

41.6 (13.7)

40.5 (14.4)

0.25

43.7 (14.0)

43.9 (13.6)

0.86

Loneliness: Mean (SD)

1.7 (0.5)

1.7 (0.5)

0.18

1.7 (0.5)

1.7 (0.6)

0.40

  1. N number, SD standard deviation, Comparisons between the two groups were done using t-test and chi-square procedures