Profile of patients aged 19 years or older who died between Jan. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2018, in Ontario (excluding residents in long-term care and patients with less than the 2 outpatient encounters in the last year of life required to calculate continuity-of-care indices)
| Patient characteristic | No. (%)* of total cohort n = 417 628 | UPC index, mean ± SD | BICE index, mean ± SD | SECON index, mean ± SD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at death, yr | ||||
| 19–44 | 15 135 (3.6) | 0.34 ± 0.30 | 0.30 ± 0.28 | 0.37 ± 0.29 |
| 45–54 | 23 472 (5.6) | 0.33 ± 0.29 | 0.30 ± 0.26 | 0.36 ± 0.27 |
| 55–64 | 54 568 (13.1) | 0.33 ± 0.27 | 0.28 ± 0.24 | 0.34 ± 0.26 |
| 65–74 | 85 907 (20.6) | 0.33 ± 0.26 | 0.26 ± 0.22 | 0.33 ± 0.24 |
| 75–84 | 113 939 (27.3) | 0.37 ± 0.26 | 0.29 ± 0.23 | 0.35 ± 0.25 |
| 85–94 | 106 471 (25.5) | 0.42 ± 0.29 | 0.35 ± 0.27 | 0.41 ± 0.29 |
| ≥ 95 | 18 136 (4.3) | 0.48 ± 0.34 | 0.44 ± 0.32 | 0.51 ± 0.33 |
| Missing | 0 (0) | |||
| Mean ± SD | 74.9 ± 14.7 | |||
| Median (IQR) | 77 (66–86) | |||
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 192 595 (46.1) | 0.38 ± 0.29 | 0.32 ± 0.26 | 0.39 ± 0.28 |
| Male | 225 033 (53.9) | 0.37 ± 0.27 | 0.29 ± 0.24 | 0.35 ± 0.27 |
| Missing | 0 (0) | |||
| Rural residence | ||||
| Urban | 361 914 (86.7) | 0.36 ± 0.28 | 0.30 ± 0.25 | 0.36 ± 0.27 |
| Rural | 54 575 (13.1) | 0.43 ± 0.29 | 0.34 ± 0.27 | 0.39 ± 0.29 |
| Missing | 1139 (0.3) | |||
| Neighbourhood income quintile | ||||
| 1 (lowest) | 103 821 (24.9) | 0.39 ± 0.29 | 0.32 ± 0.26 | 0.38 ± 0.28 |
| 2 | 92 275 (22.1) | 0.37 ± 0.28 | 0.31 ± 0.25 | 0.37 ± 0.27 |
| 3 | 80 112 (19.2) | 0.37 ± 0.28 | 0.30 ± 0.25 | 0.36 ± 0.27 |
| 4 | 70 952 (17.0) | 0.37 ± 0.28 | 0.30 ± 0.25 | 0.36 ± 0.27 |
| 5 (highest) | 68 866 (16.5) | 0.35 ± 0.28 | 0.29 ± 0.24 | 0.36 ± 0.27 |
| Missing | 1602 (0.4) | |||
| Cause-of-death category | ||||
| Terminal illness (e.g., cancer) | 150 254 (36.0) | 0.27 ± 0.23 | 0.23 ± 0.17 | 0.33 ± 0.21 |
| Organ failure (e.g., CHF, COPD) | 138 258 (33.1) | 0.42 ± 0.29 | 0.33 ± 0.27 | 0.37 ± 0.29 |
| Frailty (e.g., dementia) | 82 888 (19.8) | 0.44 ± 0.31 | 0.37 ± 0.29 | 0.40 ± 0.31 |
| Sudden death | 21 789 (5.2) | 0.44 ± 0.31 | 0.37 ± 0.30 | 0.41 ± 0.32 |
| Other | 24 439 (5.9) | 0.40 ± 0.29 | 0.32 ± 0.26 | 0.37 ± 0.29 |
| Missing | 0 (0) | |||
| Illness history† | ||||
| Cancer | 142 754 (34.2) | 0.29 ± 0.24 | 0.25 ± 0.19 | 0.31 ± 0.22 |
| CHF | 99 307 (23.8) | 0.40 ± 0.28 | 0.31 ± 0.25 | 0.36 ± 0.28 |
| COPD | 87 507 (21.0) | 0.40 ± 0.28 | 0.32 ± 0.25 | 0.37 ± 0.27 |
| Renal disease | 63 976 (15.3) | 0.34 ± 0.26 | 0.27 ± 0.22 | 0.31 ± 0.25 |
| Number of prevalent conditions | ||||
| Tercile 1 (0–2) | 155 219 (37.2) | 0.36 ± 0.29) | 0.31 ± 0.27 | 0.38 ± 0.28 |
| Tercile 2 (3–4) | 151 350 (36.2) | 0.37 ± 0.28 | 0.31 ± 0.25 | 0.37 ± 0.27 |
| Tercile 3 (5 or more) | 111 059 (26.6) | 0.38 ± 0.27 | 0.29 ± 0.23 | 0.34 ± 0.26 |
| Mean ± SD | 3.36 ± 2.00 | |||
| Median (IQR) | 3 (2–5) | |||
| No. of outpatient physician visits in last year of life | ||||
| Quartile 1 (2–7) | 102 388 (24.5) | 0.48 ± 0.34 | 0.39 ± 0.35 | 0.43 ± 0.37 |
| Quartile 2 (8–14) | 108 828 (26.1) | 0.41 ± 0.27 | 0.32 ± 0.23 | 0.38 ± 0.26 |
| Quartile 3 (15–23) | 98 484 (23.6) | 0.34 ± 0.24 | 0.27 ± 0.19 | 0.34 ± 0.22 |
| Quartile 4 (> 23) | 107 928 (25.8) | 0.26 ± 0.22 | 0.24 ± 0.18 | 0.33 ± 0.21 |
| Mean ± SD | 17.6 ± 13.7 | |||
| Median (IQR) | 14 (8–24) | |||
Note: BICE = Bice–Boxerman continuity of care, CHF = congestive heart failure, COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation, SECON = sequential continuity, UPC = usual provider continuity.
↵* Unless specified otherwise.
↵† Patient may have had these chronic diseases without dying from them, as captured in the end-of-life trajectory.