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Table 1 Characteristics of the ambulatory older patients and comparisons between patients who were prescribed cold combination products and patients who were not

From: Characteristics of the use of cold combination products among older ambulatory patients at the National Hospital Organization Tochigi Medical Center in Japan: a retrospective single-center observational study

 

Total, N = 756

Cold combination products during 1-year follow-up

p-valuea

Yes, N = 46

No, N = 710

Age, mean ± SD

75.3 ± 7.3

76.1 ± 7.2

75.3 ± 7.3

0.48

Men, n (%)

392 (51.9)

19 (41.3)

373 (52.5)

0.14

Women, n (%)

364 (48.1)

27 (58.7)

337 (47.5)

0.14

Total exemption from co-payment, n (%)

59 (7.8)

7 (15.2)

52 (7.3)

0.05

Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean ± SD

1.8 ± 1.6

1.8 ± 1.6

1.8 ± 1.6

0.93

Number of medications

 Total, mean ± SD

4.8 ± 2.9

7.0 ± 3.5

4.7 ± 2.7

< 0.001

 No medication, n (%)

21 (2.8)

1 (2.2)

20 (2.8)

1.00

 1–4 medications, n (%)

362 (47.9)

11 (23.9)

351 (49.4)

< 0.001

 5–9 medications, n (%)

319 (42.2)

23 (50.0)

296 (41.7)

0.27

 10 or more medications, n (%)

54 (7.1)

11 (23.9)

43 (6.1)

< 0.001

Past medical history, n (%)

 Dementia

41 (5.4)

2 (4.3)

39 (5.5)

0.74

 Ischemic stroke

96 (12.7)

5 (10.9)

91 (12.8)

0.82

 Myocardial infarction

40 (5.3)

4 (8.7)

36 (5.1)

0.29

 Diabetes mellitus

251 (33.2)

12 (26.1)

239 (33.7)

0.29

 Chronic kidney disease

248 (32.8)

20 (43.5)

228 (32.1)

0.11

 Peptic ulcer

155 (20.5)

5 (10.9)

150 (21.1)

0.09

Frequency of prescription with cold combination products

 Once

 

26 (56.5)

  

 Two or three times

 

10 (21.7)

  

 Four or more times

 

10 (21.7)

  
  1. aChi squared tests were used for comparisons between patients who were prescribed cold combination products and patients who were not