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Table 1 Sample characteristics and proportionsa who were readmitted or died

From: Variation in readmission and mortality following hospitalisation with a diagnosis of heart failure: prospective cohort study using linked data

Variables

Total sample

30-day unplanned readmission (%)a

30-day mortality (%)a

n

%a

Sociodemographic

 Age (years, at index admission)

  45– < 75

1303

26

20

1.8

  75– < 85

2142

42

22

3.5

   ≥ 85

1629

32

20

5.5

   Mean (SD)

80 (9.4)

80 (8.8)

84 (8.4)

 Sex

  Male

2927

58

22

4.0

  Female

2147

42

19

3.2

 Language other than English

  Yes

559

11

21

3.4

  No

4515

89

21

3.7

 Marital status

  Married

2864

56

20

3.6

  Not married

2210

44

21

3.8

 Region of residence

  Major cities

2535

50

20

4.1

  Regional

1566

31

21

3.5

  Remote

973

19

22

2.9

 Education

  No school certificate

1134

23

21

3.8

  School/Trade certificate, diploma

3211

66

22

3.5

  Tertiary degree

524

11

18

5.0

  Unknown

205

   

 Household income (AUD)

   < 20,000

1994

57

31

5.5

  20,000–39,000

914

26

28

5.7

  40,000–69,999

363

10

28

4.8

   ≥ 70,000

220

6.3

26

4.0

  Unknown

1583

   

 Private health insurance

  Yes

2131

42

19

3.8

  No

2943

58

22

3.6

Baseline health (self-reported)

 Previous heart disease

  Yes

2408

47

21

3.5

  No

2666

53

20

3.8

 Previous diabetes

  Yes

1213

24

21

3.1

  No

3861

76

21

3.9

 Excellent memory

  Yes

505

10

21

3.0

  No

4569

90

21

3.7

 Physical functioning score

  0– < 75 (severe)

2662

70

28

5.8

   ≥ 75

1127

30

25

2.7

  Unknown

1285

   

 Duke Social Support Index

   Mean (SD)

8.7(1.6)

8.6 (1.6)

8.6 (1.7)

 Psychological distress

  Very low

3478

74

22

4.5

  Low

770

16

24

2.2

  Medium

312

6.6

27

4.5

  High

140

3

25

3.1

  Unknown

374

   

 BMI

  Underweight

128

2.8

27

7.9

  Normal

1577

35

24

4.8

  Overweight

1616

36

24

3.8

  Obese

1191

26

20

2.3

  Unknown

562

   

 Smoking status

  Current smoker

273

5.4

26

5.2

  Ex-smoker

2384

47

21

3.4

  Never smoker

2388

47

20

3.8

  Unknown

29

   

 Alcohol (drinks per week)

  None

2230

46

22

3.8

  1–14 drinks

2083

43

22

4.3

   ≥ 15 drinks

522

11

20

2.8

  Unknown

239

   

Hospitalisation history (Admitted Patient Data Collection, 6 year prior to baseline)

 Previous CVD

  Yes

4669

92

21

3.6

  No

405

8

15

4.4

 Previous heart failure

  Yes

1176

23

24

4.2

  No

3898

77

20

3.5

 Previous renal disease

  Yes

564

11

26

3.9

  No

4510

89

20

3.6

 Previous anaemia

  Yes

900

18

26

4.6

  No

4174

82

20

3.5

 Previous atrial fibrillation

  Yes

1422

28

22

3.2

  No

3652

72

20

3.8

 Previous dementia

  Yes

73

1.4

18

6.9

  No

5001

99

21

3.6

Hospitalisation history (Admitted Patient Data Collection, 12 months prior to index admission)

 No. of admissions (last 12 months)

   Mean (SD)

1.3 (2.9)

1.9 (5.0)

1.8 (3.4)

 No. of hospital days (last 12 months)

   Mean (SD)

7.0 (15)

9.2 (18)

11 (18)

Index admission characteristics

 Primary diagnosis

  Yes

1973

39

20

2.3

  No

3101

61

21

4.6

 Unplanned admission

  Yes

4180

82

22

3.8

  No

894

18

16

3.2

 Length of stay (days)

  1

450

8.9

18

2.7

  2–6

1922

38

20

2.5

   ≥ 7

2702

53

21

4.7

 Current comorbidity (Charlson Index)

  Minor

2933

58

19

2.7

  Moderate

1403

28

22

4.0

  Severe

738

15

25

6.8

 Length of stay (days)

  Median (IQR)

7 (10)

7 (12)

12 (18)

Hospital characteristics

 Hospital peer group

  Principal referral

2493

49

22

3.4

  Major city

537

11

20

5.0

  District

606

12

21

4.1

  Community

355

7

26

3.4

  Private

900

18

17

3.7

  Others

183

3.6

17

2.7

 Heart failure service

  Yes

1695

33

22

3.6

  No

3379

67

20

3.7

Totals

5074

100

21

3.7

  1. aProportions (%), or means and standard deviations [SD] or median and interquartile range (IQR) for continuous variables. Denominators for percentages are the total known (i.e. non-missing/valid) values