Greater temporal regularity of primary care visits was associated with reduced hospitalizations and mortality, even after controlling for continuity of care

Table 4 Association between temporal regularity of primary care visits and mortality, using logistic regression. TR was measured over a two-year period (2016–2017) and mortality over the following two years (2018–2019). Total n = 70,356 (of whom, 3,766 died)

	Range of TR	Percent mortality	Odds Ratio – Unadjusted	95% CI Unadjusted	Odds Ratio -Adjusted^a	95% CI Adjusted
Quintile 1 of TR (most regular)	0–0.70	4.39	REF		REF
Quintile 2	0.70–0.85	5.73	1.32 ‡	[1.19,1.47]	1.17 †	[1.04,1.32]
Quintile 3	0.85–0.99	5.52	1.27 ‡	[1.14,1.42]	1.15 †	[1.02,1.29]
Quintile 4	0.99–1.18	5.51	1.27 ‡	[1.14,1.41]	1.21 †	[1.08,1.36]
Quintile 5 (least regular)	1.18–3.19	5.61	1.29 ‡	[1.16,1.44]	1.40 ‡	[1.24,1.57]

^aAdjusted for all variables in Table 2 (age, sex, sector, region, SES, comorbid conditions), and for Bice-Boxerman continuity of care
^†p < 0.05
^‡p < 0.001

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