Risk factors for hospital readmission in older adults within 30 days of discharge – a comparative retrospective study

Table 1 Patient characteristics prior to admission

Characteristic	Comparison group (n = 360)	Readmitted < 30 days (n = 360)	p-value
Age^a, Mean (SD)	78 (8)	80 (8)	0.072^b
Female, %	52	49	0.333^c
Number of hospitalisations 12 months, Mean (SD)	1.4 (1.0)	2.0 (1.3)	< 0.001^b
Number of visits to ER 6 months, Mean (SD)	0.3 (0.7)	0.5 (0.9)	0.001^b
Charlson Comorbidity Index, Mean (SD)	6 (3)	8 (3)	< 0.001^b
*Living situation and disability*
Nursing home, %	11	13	0.299^c
Own home, with spouse/other, %	53	43	0.005^c
Own home, alone, %	36	44	0.028^c
Own home with home care, %	16	33	< 0.001^{c, d}
Help with activities in daily life, %	12	19	0.007^c
Own home with home healthcare, %	10	19	0.002^{c, f}
Help with medication from nurse, %	16	25	0.004^c
Multi-dose drug dispensing, %	14	22	0.005^{c, d}
Using walking aid, %	44	60	< 0.001^{c, e}
Using wheelchair, %	8.4	16	0.003^{c, d}

Abbreviations: ER Emergency Room, SD Standard Deviation
^aVariables included in the Charlson Comorbidity Index ^bStudents t-test ^cχ²-test ^dInternal missing 0.3–0.4% ^eInternal missing 3.1% ^fInternal missing 8.9%
Significant p-values are indicated in bold.

ISSN: 1471-2318