Comparison of characteristics of single-season versus persistent snowbirds, 2009/10
| Characteristic | No. (%) of snowbirds* | Standardized difference, % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-season n = 11 626 | Persistent† n = 41 805 | ||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age category, yr | |||
| 65–69 | 2817 (24.2) | 13 834 (33.1) | 0.20 |
| 70–74 | 3139 (27.0) | 12 827 (30.7) | 0.08 |
| 75–79 | 2744 (23.6) | 8851 (21.2) | 0.06 |
| ≥ 80 | 2926 (25.2) | 6293 (15.1) | 0.25 |
| Female sex | 6292 (54.1) | 21 114 (50.5) | 0.07 |
| Recent migrant to Ontario | 1225 (10.5) | 2702 (6.5) | 0.15 |
| Rural residency | 1565 (13.5) | 7885 (18.9) | 0.15 |
| Neighbourhood income quintile | 0.09 | ||
| 1 (lowest) | 1960 (16.9) | 5691 (13.7) | 0.01 |
| 2 | 2221 (19.2) | 7753 (18.6) | 0.02 |
| 3 | 2336 (20.2) | 8059 (19.3) | 0.03 |
| 4 | 2394 (20.7) | 9084 (21.8) | 0.08 |
| 5 (highest) | 2679 (23.1) | 11 078 (26.6) | 0.20 |
| Missing | 36 (0.3) | 140 (0.3) | 0.00 |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Deyo–Charlson Comorbidity Index score | |||
| 0 | 8924 (76.8) | 34 072 (81.5) | 0.12 |
| 1 | 1135 (9.8) | 3633 (8.7) | 0.04 |
| ≥ 2 | 1567 (13.5) | 4100 (9.8) | 0.11 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 3545 (30.5) | 11 815 (28.3) | 0.05 |
| Asthma | 1494 (12.9) | 4821 (11.5) | 0.04 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 2128 (18.3) | 6517 (15.6) | 0.07 |
| Hypertension | 8786 (75.6) | 31 290 (74.8) | 0.02 |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 486 (4.2) | 1440 (3.4) | 0.04 |
| Congestive heart failure | 941 (8.1) | 2099 (5.0) | 0.12 |
| Mental health condition | 2613 (22.5) | 8175 (19.6) | 0.07 |
| Prior health care visits, median (IQR) | |||
| Emergency department (previous yr) | 11 (7–16) | 9 (6–14) | 0.15 |
| Primary care (previous 2 yr) | 2 (0–5) | 2 (0–5) | 0.06 |
| Specialist care (previous yr) | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–0) | 0.13 |