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Table 1 Demographic characteristics and cause and place of death, decedents aged ≥70 years, NSW, 2007 (n = 34,556)

From: Health-services utilisation amongst older persons during the last year of life: a population-based study

 

All aged 70+

Aged 70–79

Aged 80–89

Aged 90+

n (%)

n (%)a

n (%)

n (%)

 

n = 34,556

n = 10,252

n = 16,354

n = 7950

Sex

 Female

18,316 (53)

4165 (41)

8600 (53)

5551 (70)

 Male

16,092 (47)

6059 (59)

7696 (47)

2337 (29)

 Unknown

148 (0.4)

28 (0.3)

58 (0.4)

62 (0.8)

Place of residence

 Major cities

23,449 (68)

6847 (67)

11,167 (68)

5435 (68)

 Inner regional

8308 (24)

2507 (24)

3933 (23)

1868 (23)

 Outer regional/Remote/Very remote

2465 (7)

814 (8)

1120 (7)

531 (7)

 Unknown

334 (1)

84 (1)

134 (1)

116 (1)

Socioeconomic status

 Most disadvantaged quintile

6492 (19)

2169 (21)

3026 (19)

1297 (16)

 Quintile 2

7596 (22)

2539 (25)

3468 (21)

1589 (20)

 Quintile 3

7744 (22)

2262 (22)

3695 (23)

1787 (22)

 Quintile 4

5939 (17)

1664 (16)

2916 (18)

1359 (17)

 Least disadvantaged quintile

6417 (19)

1524 (15)

3099 (19)

1794 (23)

 Unknown

368 (1)

94 (1)

150 (1)

124 (2)

Marital status

 Never married

1983 (6)

783 (8)

856 (5)

344 (4)

 Married (including de facto)

12,677 (37)

5414 (53)

6040 (37)

1223 (15)

 Widowed

13,690 (40)

2300 (22)

6835 (42)

4555 (57)

 Separated/Divorced

1523 (4)

805 (8)

605 (4)

113 (1)

 Unknown

4683 (14)

950 (9)

2018 (12)

1715 (22)

Country of birth

 Australia

25,671 (74)

7432 (72)

12,194 (75)

6045 (76)

 Other country

8657 (25)

2764 (27)

4074 (25)

1819 (23)

 Unknown

228 (1)

56 (1)

86 (1)

86 (1)

In residential aged care facility prior to death

10,462 (30)

1952 (19)

5308 (32)

3202 (40)

Cause of death

 Disease of the circulatory system

13,333 (39)

2964 (29)

6547 (40)

3822 (48)

 Cancer

8615 (25)

3932 (38)

3769 (23)

914 (11)

 Disease of the respiratory system

3127 (9)

936 (9)

1513 (9)

678 (9)

 Dementia

1746 (5)

227 (2)

842 (5)

677 (9)

 Other known cause

6525 (19)

1868 (18)

3136 (19)

1521 (19)

 Unknown cause

1210 (4)

325 (3)

547 (3)

338 (4)

Place of death

 Inpatient setting

18,437(53)

6581 (64)

8770 (54)

3086 (39)

 Dead on arrival at ED

835 (2)

401 (4)

361 (2)

73 (1)

 Other/sNot recorded

15,284 (44)

3270 (32)

7223 (44)

4791 (60)

For cancer deaths:

n = 8615

n = 3932

n = 3769

n = 914

 Inpatient settingb

5894 (68)

2904 (74)

2493 (66)

497 (54)

 Home

1145 (13)

579 (15)

449 (12)

117 (13)

 RACF

1240 (14)

350 (9)

660 (18)

230 (25)

  1. ED emergency department, RACF Residential Aged Care Facility
  2. aAll p-values from a chi-squared test for differences across age groups were < 0.0001, except p = 0.002 for “place of residence”
  3. bIncludes death in hospital, hospice/palliative care ward of a hospital, or stand-alone hospice/palliative care unit