Demographics, comorbidities, admission, and discharge characteristics by age group
| Characteristic (%) | 65–74 years | 75–84 years | ≥85 years | P value* |
| n | 152,309 | 177,745 | 158,328 | |
| Female | 73,614 (48.3) | 88,693 (49.9) | 92,048 (58.1) | <0.001 |
| Race | <0.001 | |||
| White | 116,005 (76.2) | 138,718 (78.0) | 126,280 (79.8) | |
| Black | 15,434 (10.1) | 13,282 (7.5) | 8939 (5.6) | |
| Other | 20,993 (13.7) | 25,745 (14.5) | 23,109 (14.6) | |
| Married | 71,115 (46.7) | 75,299 (42.4) | 42,238 (26.7) | <0.001 |
| Insurance | <0.001 | |||
| Medicare | 134,225 (88.1) | 166,842 (93.9) | 150,801 (95.2) | |
| Medicaid | 3226 (2.1) | 2536 (1.4) | 1813 (1.1) | |
| Other | 14,855 (9.8) | 8367 (4.7) | 5713 (3.7) | |
| Admission from SNF/ICF | 10,974 (7.2) | 17,214 (9.7) | 21,250 (13.4) | <0.001 |
| Discharge disposition | <0.001 | |||
| Home | 72,902 (47.9) | 59,260 (33.3) | 31,297 (19.8) | |
| Home with home health | 23,971 (15.7) | 30,966 (17.4) | 25,242 (15.9) | |
| Hospice | 7625 (5.0) | 13,012 (7.3) | 17,022 (10.8) | |
| Expired | 11,464 (7.5) | 15,706 (8.8) | 16,573 (10.5) | |
| SNF | 31,976 (21.0) | 54,411 (30.6) | 64,923 (41.0) | |
| Other | 4371 (2.9) | 4390 (2.5) | 3271 (2.1) | |
| Principal diagnosis | <0.001 | |||
| Pneumonia | 79,307 (52.1) | 91,846 (51.7) | 76,818 (48.5) | |
| Aspiration pneumonia | 10,718 (7.0) | 19,468 (11.0) | 27,903 (17.1) | |
| Sepsis | 51,206 (33.6) | 57,101 (32.1) | 49,004 (31.0) | |
| Respiratory failure | 11,078 (7.3) | 9330 (5.2) | 5413 (3.4) | |
| Concurrent UTI | 19,363 (12.7) | 30,435 (17.1) | 34,687 (21.9) | <0.001 |
| Do not resuscitate (DNR) order | 13,184 (8.7) | 26,809 (15.1) | 43,210 (27.3) | <0.001 |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| Combined comorbidity score (median [Q1, Q3]) | 3.0 [1.0, 5.0] | 3.0 [1.0, 5.0] | 3.0 [2.0, 5.0] | <0.001† |
| Smoking | 28,035 (18.4) | 13,890 (7.8) | 3908 (2.5) | <0.001 |
| COPD | 83,388 (54.7) | 86,380 (48.6) | 56,254 (35.5) | <0.001 |
| Chronic heart failure | 41,637 (27.3) | 59,540 (33.5) | 61,657 (38.9) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 26,781 (17.6) | 28,093 (15.8) | 17,727 (11.2) | <0.001 |
| Obesity | 24,671 (16.2) | 16,163 (9.1) | 5795 (3.7) | <0.001 |
| Metastatic cancer | 8447 (5.5) | 6086 (3.4) | 2475 (1.6) | <0.001 |
| Paralysis | 7273 (4.8) | 7918 (4.5) | 5451 (3.4) | <0.001 |
| Liver disease | 4971 (3.3) | 2985 (1.7) | 1079 (0.68) | <0.001 |
| Low functional status | 41,290 (27.2) | 50,208 (28.2) | 41,315 (26.1) | <0.001 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 26,511 (17.4) | 42,003 (23.6) | 44,451 (28.1) | <0.001 |
| Dialysis | 8777 (5.8) | 7392 (4.2) | 2991 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| Dementia | 11,893 (7.8) | 34,921 (19.6) | 48,057 (30.4) | <0.001 |
| Pressure ulcers | 8592 (5.6) | 12,851 (7.2) | 13,712 (8.7) | <0.001 |
Demographic, comorbidity, admission, and discharge data are compared between the 3 age groups (65–74, 75–84, and ≥85 years).
*Pearson’s χ2 tests unless otherwise noted.
†Kruskal-Wallis test.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICF, intermediate care facility; SNF, skilled nursing facility; UTI, urinary tract infection.