Describing the characteristics and healthcare use of high-cost acute care users at the end of life: a pan-Canadian population-based study

Table 1 Cohort characteristics by high user groups

	Persistent high user (N = 11,375)		Non-persistent high user (N = 78,989)		Non-high user (N = 88,141)		Total^a (N = 191,310)
Characteristics	N	Col%	N	Col%	N	Col%	N	Col%
Sex
Female	5025	44	35,846	45	42,829	49	89,751	47
Male	6350	56	43,143	55	45,312	51	101,559	53
Age
18–44	628	6	2297	3	1885	2	5152	3
45–54	948	8	4621	6	3773	4	10,021	5
55–64	2019	18	10,592	13	8955	10	23,144	12
65–74	2756	24	17,392	22	16,008	18	38,787	20
75–84	3125	27	24,036	30	25,724	29	56,831	30
≥ 85	1899	17	20,051	25	31,796	36	57,375	30
Rurality
Urban	10,052	88	69,443	88	76,938	87	167,666	88
Rural	1323	12	9546	12	11,203	13	23,644	12
Selected Elixhauser Comorbid Conditions
Cardiac Arrhythmia	2348	21	17,991	23	15,642	18	38,232	20
Congestive Heart Failure	3036	27	18,510	23	16,400	19	40,917	21
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease	2213	19	12,642	16	13,212	15	30,424	16
Depression	410	4	2227	3	1202	1	4037	2
Diabetes - Complicated	3575	31	17,933	23	15,455	18	40,037	21
Diabetes - Uncomplicated	721	6	5062	6	5611	6	12,248	6
Hypertension - Complicated	133	1	744	1	430	< 1	1419	1
Hypertension - Uncomplicated	2412	21	19,606	25	22,240	25	47,180	25
Hypothyroidism	302	3	1815	2	1644	2	4001	2
Liver Disease	1033	9	6409	8	4560	5	12,661	7
Lymphoma	480	4	2884	4	1867	2	5657	3
Metastatic Cancer	1707	15	15,755	20	18,901	21	38,802	20
Other Neurological Disorders	963	8	6888	9	5785	7	14,431	8
Psychoses	84	1	463	1	316	< 1	913	< 1
Renal Failure	1596	14	7886	10	6959	8	17,785	9
Tumor (Solid Tumor without Metastasis)	2439	21	21,449	27	24,181	27	51,253	27
# of Comorbidities
0	675	6	5071	6	9500	11	16,464	9
1–2	5152	45	36,516	46	47,903	54	96,242	50
3–5	5032	44	34,520	44	29,144	33	73,304	38
6+	516	5	2882	4	1594	2	5300	3

^atotal denominator includes those flagged as ‘high-cost in the year prior to death, but not in the death year’ (represent 7% of the study population)

ISSN: 1472-6963