Table 1 Characteristics of study participants according to living arrangement status, the Singapore Chinese Health Study [n (%) and mean (standard deviation)]
From: Emergency hospital admissions among older adults living alone in the community
| Â | Total (N=16,785) | Living with others (N=15,473) | Living alone (N=1,312) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of ED admissions, mean (SD) | 0.23 (0.69) | 0.22 (0.69) | 0.28 (0.74) | <0.01 |
Excluding those with no ED admissions | 1.56 (1.11) | 1.56 (1.12) | 1.54 (1.07) | 0.80 |
Inpatient days, mean (SD) | 1.51 (7.08) | 1.47 (7.07) | 2.03 (7.17) | <0.01 |
Excluding those with <1Â day | 10.78 (16.04) | 10.70 (16.30) | 11.52 (13.56) | 0.46 |
Inpatient costs (USD), mean (SD) | 1,159 (5,480) | 1,139 (5,482) | 1,390 (5,464) | 0.11 |
Excluding those with no costs | 8,009 (12,363) | 8,038 (12,518) | 7,728 (10,834) | 0.71 |
Age (years), mean (SD) | 73.2 (6.40) | 73.0 (6.37) | 75.0 (6.46) | <0.01 |
Gender, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | <0.01 |
Men | 6,854 (40.8) | 6,548 (42.3) | 306 (23.3) | Â |
Women | 9,931 (59.2) | 8,925 (57.7) | 1,006 (76.7) | Â |
Education level, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | <0.01 |
Secondary education and above | 6,114 (36.5) | 5,702 (36.8) | 412 (31.4) | Â |
Primary education | 7,509 (44.7) | 6,930 (44.8) | 579 (44.1) | Â |
No formal education | 3,162 (18.8) | 2,841 (18.4) | 321 (24.5) | Â |
Number of chronic diseases, n (%) | Â | Â | 0.30 | |
None | 2,697 (16.1) | 2,506 (16.2) | 191 (14.6) | Â |
One | 3,629 (21.6) | 3,348 (21.6) | 281 (21.4) | Â |
Two | 4,304 (25.6) | 3,977 (25.7) | 327 (24.9) | Â |
Three | 3,587 (21.4) | 3,288 (21.2) | 299 (22.8) | Â |
Four or more | 2,568 (15.3) | 2,354 (15.3) | 214 (16.3) | Â |
Multimorbidity, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Without multimorbidity (None or one chronic disease) | 6,326 (37.7) | 5,854 (37.8) | 472 (36.0) | 0.18 |
With multimorbidity (Two or more chronic diseases) | 10,459 (62.3) | 9,619 (62.2) | 840 (64.0) | Â |
Physical function, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | 0.04 |
Good physical function | 14,686 (87.5) | 13,561 (87.6) | 1125 (85.7) | Â |
Poor physical function | 2,099 (12.5) | 1912 (12.4) | 187 (14.3) | Â |
Instrumental limitations (Lawton), n (%) | Â | Â | <0.01 | |
None | 12,318 (73.4) | 11,295 (73.0) | 1,023 (78.0) | Â |
At least one | 4,467 (26.6) | 4,178 (27.0) | 289 (22.0) | Â |
Depression (GDS score ≥5), n (%) |  |  | <0.01 | |
Not depressed | 12,343 (73.6) | 11,458 (74.1) | 885 (67.5) | Â |
Depressed | 4,442 (26.4) | 4,015 (25.9) | 427 (32.5) | Â |
Cognitive impairment (MMSE), n (%) | Â | Â | 0.79 | |
Not cognitively impaired | 14,363 (85.6) | 13,244 (85.6) | 1,119 (85.3) | Â |
Cognitively impaired | 2,422 (14.4) | 2,229 (14.4) | 193 (14.7) | Â |
Social support, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | <0.01 |
Adequate social support | 15,029 (89.5) | 14,014 (90.6) | 1,015 (77.4) | Â |
Poor social support | 1,756 (10.5) | 1,459 (9.4) | 297 (22.6) | Â |
Social activity, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | <0.01 |
Socially active | 8,865 (52.8) | 8,046 (52.0) | 819 (62.4) | Â |
Not socially active | 7,920 (47.2) | 7,427 (48.0) | 493 (37.6) | Â |
Primary care visits, n (%) | Â | Â | Â | Â |
Not in highest decile | 14,990 (89.3) | 13,808 (89.2) | 1,182 (90.1) | 0.34 |
Highest decile | 1,795 (10.7) | 1,665 (10.8) | 130 (9.9) | Â |
Baseline number of ED admissions, mean (SD) | 0.16 (0.53) | 0.16 (0.53) | 0.17 (0.52) | 0.69 |
Excluding those with no ED admissions | 1.38 (0.88) | 1.39 (0.89) | 1.35 (0.78) | 0.58 |
Baseline inpatient days, mean (SD) | 0.89 (4.61) | 0.89 (4.63) | 0.93 (4.33) | 0.76 |
Excluding those with <1Â day | 8.03 (11.60) | 8.05 (11.72) | 7.89 (10.27) | 0.87 |
Baseline inpatient costs, mean (SD) | 950 (5,233) | 954 (5,320) | 903 (4,077) | 0.74 |
Excluding those with no costs | 8,238 (13,321) | 8,317 (13,620) | 7,365 (9,396) | 0.39 |
Died within analysis period | Â | Â | Â | 0.51 |
No | 16,431 (97.9) | 15,150 (97.9) | 1,281 (97.6) | Â |
Yes | 354 (2.1) | 323 (2.1) | 31 (2.4) | Â |