Characteristics of adult (> 18 yr) population, nonfrequent and frequent users of the emergency department in Quebec, fiscal year 2014/15
| Characteristics | Total study population, n (%)* | Nonfrequent† ED users, n (%)* | Frequent‡ ED users, n (%)* | Standard difference§ | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 5 316 832 (100) | 5 102 911 (96) | 213 921 (4) | ||
| ED admissions (median) | 2 204 454 (0) | 1 294 317 (0) | 910 137 (3) | ||
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 51.2 ± 17.93 | 51.0 ± 17.8 | 54.4 ± 20.4 | 0.18 | < 0.0001¶ |
| Age group, yr | |||||
| 18–24 | 486 288 (9.2) | 466 562 (9.1) | 19 726 (8.2) | 0.01 | |
| 25–34 | 702 982 (13.2) | 674 738 (13.2) | 28 244 (13.2) | 0.00 | |
| 35–44 | 787 369 (14.8) | 760 970 (14.9) | 26 399 (12.3) | −0.22 | |
| 45–54 | 1 011 673 (19.0) | 979 209 (19.2) | 32 464 (15.2) | −0.28 | |
| 55–64 | 1 056 480 (19.9) | 1 022 168 (20.0) | 34 312 (16.0) | −0.27 | |
| 65–74 | 753 395 (14.2) | 721 422 (14.1) | 31 973 (15.0) | 0.07 | |
| 75–84 | 384 081 (7.2) | 357 253 (7.0) | 26 828 (12.5) | 0.63 | |
| ≥ 85 | 134 564 (2.5) | 120 589 (2.4) | 13 975 (6.5) | 0.97 | < 0.0001** |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 2 539 865 (47.8) | 2 446 263 (47.9) | 93 602 (43.8) | −0.17 | |
| Female | 2 776 967 (52.2) | 2 656 648 (52.1) | 120 319 (56.2) | 0.17 | < 0.0001** |
| Location | |||||
| Nonrural | 4 207 827 (79.7) | 4 057 454 (80.0) | 150 373 (70.6) | −0.51 | |
| Rural | 1 074 234 (20.3) | 1 011 587 (20.0) | 62 647 (29.4) | 0.51 | < 0.0001** |
| Missing data | 34 771 | 33 870 | 901 | ||
| Material deprivation | |||||
| 1 (least deprived) | 998 753 (19.8) | 972 823 (20.1) | 25 930 (13.1) | −0.51 | |
| 2 | 1 028 192 (20.4) | 995 089 (20.5) | 33 103 (16.7) | −0.25 | |
| 3 | 1 020 225 (20.2) | 981 557 (20.2) | 38 668 (19.5) | −0.04 | |
| 4 | 1 024 684 (20.3) | 978 698 (20.2) | 45 986 (23.2) | 0.18 | |
| 5 (most deprived) | 975 786 (19.3) | 920 894 (19.0) | 54 892 (27.6) | 0.49 | < 0.0001** |
| Missing data | 269 192 | 253 850 | 15 342 | ||
| Social deprivation | |||||
| 1 (least deprived) | 1 005 149 (19.9) | 970 250 (20.0) | 34 899 (17.6) | −0.16 | |
| 2 | 1 027 120 (20.4) | 988 500 (20.4) | 38 620 (19.5) | −0.06 | |
| 3 | 1 040 014 (20.6) | 1 000 407 (20.6) | 39 607 (20.0) | −0.04 | |
| 4 | 1 002 699 (19.9) | 961 984 (19.8) | 40 715 (20.5) | 0.04 | |
| 5 (most deprived) | 972 658 (19.3) | 927 920 (19.1) | 44 738 (22.5) | 0.21 | < 0.0001** |
| Missing data | 269 192 | 253 850 | 15 342 | ||
| Physical multimorbidity | |||||
| Absent | 4 900 550 (92.2) | 4 734 861 (92.8) | 165 689 (77.5) | −1.27 | |
| Present | 416 282 (7.8) | 368 050 (7.2) | 48 232 (22.5) | 1.27 | < 0.0001** |
| No. of physical conditions, mean ± SD | 0.42 ± 1.0 | 0.39 ± 1.0 | 1.10 ± 2.0 | 0.46 | < 0.0001** |
| No. of physical conditions | |||||
| 0 | 4 016 066 (75.5) | 3 891 864 (76.3) | 124 202 (58.1) | −0.86 | |
| 1 | 884 484 (16.6) | 842 997 (16.5) | 41 487 (19.4) | 0.20 | |
| 2 | 213 618 (4.0) | 197 075 (3.9) | 16 543 (7.7) | 0.70 | |
| 3 | 83 013 (1.6) | 73 618 (1.4) | 9395 (4.4) | 1.07 | |
| ≥ 4 | 119 651 (2.2) | 97 357 (1.9) | 22 294 (10.4) | 1.52 | < 0.0001** |
| Mental disorder status | |||||
| None | 4 638 633 (87.2) | 4 479 712 (87.8) | 158 921 (74.3) | −0.91 | |
| Common | 598 276 (11.3) | 554 086 (10.9) | 44 190 (20.7) | 0.75 | |
| Serious | 79 923 (1.5) | 69 113 (1.4) | 10 810 (5.1) | 1.19 | < 0.0001¶ |
Note: ED = emergency department, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless otherwise specified.
↵† Nonfrequent is defined as 0–2 visits per year.
↵‡ Frequent is defined as ≥ 3 visits per year.
↵§ Absolute standard differences ≤ 0.10 are interpreted as no difference between groups.
↵¶ Student t test.
↵** Pearson χ2 test.