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Table 2 Characteristics of participants included in Cohort 1 (0–12 months before interview) and Cohort 2 (13–24 months before interview)

From: Impact of drug burden index on adverse health outcomes in Irish community-dwelling older people: a cohort study

Characteristic

Cohort 1 (n = 1924)

Cohort 2 (n = 1781)

Age (years, mean (SD))a

75.0 (6.1)

75.3 (6.1)

Female sex (n (%))

1052 (54.7)

977 (54.9)

Education level (n (%))b

 Primary

994 (51.7)

939 (52.8)

 Secondary

602 (31.3)

553 (31.1)

 Tertiary

326 (17.0)

287 (16.1)

Living alone (n (%))

679 (35.3)

652 (36.6)

Polypharmacy (n (%))c

774 (40.6)

728 (41.3)

No. of chronic diseases (n (%))d

 0

181 (9.4)

154 (8.6)

 1

387 (20.1)

361 (20.3)

 2

475 (24.7)

435 (24.4)

 3+

881 (45.8)

831 (46.7)

Depression (n (%))e

 None/mild

1087 (57.5)

985 (56.4)

 Moderate

579 (30.7)

547 (31.3)

 Severe

223 (11.8)

215 (12.3)

Cognitive impairment (n (%))f

178 (9.3)

173 (9.7)

Disability (n (%))g

397 (20.6)

382 (21.5)

Drug Burden Index score

 Mean (SD)

0.63 (0.71)

0.64 (0.70)

 Median (IQR)

0.44 (0.07–0.88)

0.46 (0.08–0.91)

Drug Burden Index groups (n (%))

  

 0

727 (37.8)

706 (39.6)

  > 0 to < 1

934 (48.5)

850 (47.7)

  ≥ 1

263 (13.7)

225 (12.6)

  1. aMissing for 1 participant (0.05%) in Cohort 1
  2. bMissing for 2 participants (0.10%) in Cohort 1, and 2 participants (0.11%) in Cohort 2
  3. cTaking > 5 regular medications. Missing for 17 participants (0.88%) in Cohort 1, and 18 participants (1.01%) in Cohort 2
  4. dDoctor-diagnosed chronic conditions from the following list: cardiovascular disease (heart attack, heart failure or angina), cataracts, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, lung disease, asthma, arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, peptic ulcer, and hip fracture
  5. eBased on the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale [14]. Missing for 35 participants (1.82%) in Cohort 1, and 34 participants (1.91%) in Cohort 2
  6. fMini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score < 25 [15]
  7. gAt least one difficulty with any task listed in either the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale [10] or the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale [11]