Weighted frequencies of baseline characteristics among participants, according to cost-related medication underuse (CRMU) in the previous 12 months*
| Variable† | Weighted population with CRMU, % | Weighted population without CRMU, % | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr | < 0.001 | ||
| 18–64 | 67.1 | 46.1 | |
| ≥ 65 | 32.9 | 53.9 | |
| Sex | < 0.001 | ||
| Male | 25.9 | 40.7 | |
| Female | 74.1 | 59.3 | |
| Racial background | < 0.001 | ||
| White | 82.7 | 89.0 | |
| Indigenous | 10.4 | 3.1 | |
| Other | 6.9 | 7.9 | |
| Marital status | < 0.001 | ||
| Married | 33.2 | 58.0 | |
| Unmarried | 66.8 | 42.0 | |
| Self-perceived health | < 0.001 | ||
| Excellent | 5.1 | 10.7 | |
| Very good | 11.8 | 29.1 | |
| Good | 34.6 | 35.4 | |
| Fair | 27.0 | 16.2 | |
| Poor | 21.5 | 8.6 | |
| Self-perceived mental health | < 0.001 | ||
| Excellent | 14.0 | 30.4 | |
| Very good | 32.1 | 35.2 | |
| Good | 30.5 | 25.5 | |
| Fair | 18.8 | 7.0 | |
| Poor | 4.6 | 1.9 | |
| Total household income, $ | < 0.001 | ||
| < 20 000 | 19.4 | 9.0 | |
| 20 000–39 999 | 32.4 | 20.1 | |
| 40 000–59 999 | 21.0 | 17.4 | |
| 60 000–79 999 | 11.6 | 14.3 | |
| ≥ 80 000 | 15.6 | 39.2 | |
| Education | 0.923 | ||
| Less than secondary school | 16.9 | 17.9 | |
| Secondary school | 24.0 | 23.2 | |
| Postsecondary education | 59.1 | 58.9 | |
| Working status (previous week) | 0.004 | ||
| Worked at a job or business | 34.0 | 41.5 | |
| Absent from work or business | 3.6 | 5.1 | |
| Did not have a job | 62.4 | 53.4 | |
| Insurance for prescription medications | < 0.001 | ||
| Yes | 65.0 | 84.5 | |
| No | 35.0 | 15.5 | |
| Cancer status | 0.941 | ||
| Current diagnosis | 20.8 | 20.6 | |
| Survivor | 79.2 | 79.4 | |
| Overnight hospital visits in the previous 12 months | < 0.001 | ||
| Yes | 27.5 | 14.4 | |
| No | 72.5 | 85.6 | |
| Worried food would run out in the previous 12 months | < 0.001 | ||
| Often true | 23.2 | 1.8 | |
| Sometimes true | 19.5 | 4.4 | |
| Never true | 57.3 | 93.8 | |
| Comorbidities‡ | < 0.001 | ||
| No comorbidities | 5.9 | 15.8 | |
| One comorbidity | 19.0 | 23.1 | |
| More than 1 comorbidity | 75.1 | 61.1 |
↵* Of the 109 660 respondents to the Canadian Community Health Survey 2015/16, 8581 eligible participants were included in the current study (460 participants [weighted frequency 5%] who reported CRMU; 8121 participants who did not report CRMU [weighted frequency 95%]).
↵† Some respondents were missing information for the following variables: marital status (n = 20), self-reported health (n = 40), self-reported mental health (n = 21), income (n = 8), education (n = 119), food security (n = 3033), working status (n = 2555), comorbidities (n = 353).
↵‡ Comorbidities: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, arthritis, osteoporosis, hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, migraine, mood disorder and anxiety disorder.