Characteristics of all decedents in Ontario and decedents who received medical assistance in dying
| Characteristic | No. (%) of decedents* | Standardized difference (Ontario v. MAiD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Ontario n = 186 814* | MAiD n = 2241* | ||
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 77.0 ± 15.6 | 74.4 ± 13.1 | 0.18 |
| Sex, female | 92 270 (49.4) | 1124 (50.2) | 0.02 |
| Income quintile | 0.31 | ||
| 1 (lowest) | 48 786 (26.1) | 383 (17.1) | |
| 2 | 41 468 (22.2) | 414 (18.5) | |
| 3 | 35 566 (19.0) | 416 (18.6) | |
| 4 | 31 284 (16.7) | 449 (20.0) | |
| 5 (highest) | 29 153 (15.6) | 559 (24.9) | |
| Missing | 557 (0.3) | 20 (0.9) | |
| Rural residence | 0.03 | ||
| No | 160 847 (86.1) | 1898 (84.7) | |
| Yes | 25 456 (13.6) | 333 (14.9) | |
| Missing | 511 (0.3) | 10 (0.4) | |
| Metropolitan influenced zone† | 0.07 | ||
| Strong (more urban) | 71 315 (38.2) | 823 (36.7) | |
| Moderate | 35 244 (18.9) | 459 (20.5) | |
| Weak | 57 297 (30.7) | 638 (28.5) | |
| None (more rural) | 22 878 (12.2) | 311 (13.9) | |
| Missing | 80 (0.0) | 10 (0.4) | |
| Place of death/MAiD | 0.25 | ||
| Home/private | 87 123 (46.6) | 1008 (45.0) | |
| Hospital | 74 828 (40.1) | 917 (40.9) | |
| Long-term care | 15 313 (8.2) | 89 (4.0) | |
| Other | 9550 (5.1) | 227 (10.1) | |
| Marital statusठ| 0.34 | ||
| Single | 5824 (10.6) | 117 (7.2) | |
| Married | 22 256 (40.6) | 791 (48.5) | |
| Divorced/separated | 4579 (8.4) | 154 (9.4) | |
| Widowed | 19 610 (35.8) | 419 (25.7) | |
| Unknown/other | 1838 (3.4) | 145 (8.9) | |
| Missing | 718 (1.3) | 4 (0.2) | |
| Place of residence‡ | 0.6 | ||
| Noninstitutional settings | 134 528 (72.0) | 1527 (93.7) | |
| Private residence | 1380 (84.7) | ||
| Assisted living facility | 147 (9.0) | ||
| Institutional settings | 52 286 (28.0) | 102 (6.3) | |
| Long-term care facility | 46 390 (24.8) | 79 (4.8) | |
| Other | 5896 (3.2) | 23 (1.4) | |
| Type of illness§ | 0.88 | ||
| Cancer | 15 129 (27.6) | 1444 (64.4) | |
| Cardiovascular | 15 249 (27.8) | 190 (8.5) | |
| Hepatic | 680 (1.2) | 9 (0.4) | |
| Neurodegenerative | 6346 (11.6) | 266 (11.9) | |
| Renal | 1118 (2.0) | 23 (1.0) | |
| Respiratory | 5217 (9.5) | 167 (7.5) | |
| Other | 10 341 (18.9) | 142 (6.3) | |
| Missing | 745 (1.4) | 0 | |
Note: MAiD = medical assistance in dying, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless stated otherwise.
↵† Metropolitan influenced zones are defined by the percentage of residents in the zone who commute to work in the core of a metropolitan area (www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92–195-x/2011001/other-autre/miz-zim/def-eng.htm).
↵‡ For the MAiD cohort, the initial 611 patients were removed from the analysis of this variable because these data were not recorded.
↵§ For the Ontario decedent cohort, complete data on marital status and cause of death were available only between June 7, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016 (n = 54 825).