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Table 4 Socio-demographic characteristics, consultation frequency, long-term drug use and medical history in dizzy and non-dizzy patients aged 65 years or older in family practice

From: Dizziness reported by elderly patients in family practice: prevalence, incidence, and clinical characteristics

 

Prevalence (%)

  
 

Non-dizzy

(n = 46611)

Dizzy

(n = 3990)

Univariate

p

Multivariate* OR (95% CI)

Gender, female

57.2

65.9

< 0.001†

 

Age in years, mean (SEM)

74.5 (0.03)

76.1 (0.11)

< 0.001†

 

Health care insurance

  

< 0.001†

 

   Public health

72.8

77.2

  

   Private

27.2

22.7

  

   Unknown/missing

0.1

0.1

  

Living alone

  

< 0.001†

1.3 (1.2-1.4)

   Yes

25.6

34.8

  

   No

69.8

60.6

  

   Unknown/missing

4.6

4.6

  

Education

  

< 0.001†‡

 

   None

1.4

1.5

  

   Elementary school

37.4

43.6

 

1.2 (1.1-1.3) §

   High school

32.5

30.2

  

   College or university

6.4

4.2

  

   Unknown/missing

22.4

20.5

  

Consultation frequency, mean (SEM)

6.3 (0.03)

12.8 (0.18)

< 0.001†

 

Long-term drug use||

    

   Number of drugs, mean (SEM)

1.6 (0.01)

2.3 (0.04)

< 0.001†

 

   Polypharmacy (> 5 drugs)

6.3

11.0

< 0.001†

 

Medical history

    

   Number of diagnoses, mean (SEM)

1.9 (0.02)

2.5 (0.06)

< 0.001†

 

   Anxiety syndrome

0.2

0.5

< 0.001†

 

   Cataract

2.0

3.7

< 0.001†

 

   Cerebrovascular disease

2.9

5.3

< 0.001†

1.3 (1.1-1.5)

   Coronary artery disease

7.5

11.4

< 0.001†

 

   Depression

1.7

3.0

< 0.001†

 

   Diabetes mellitus

7.3

9.8

< 0.001†

 

   Hypertension

12.8

18.1

< 0.001†

1.2 (1.1-1.3)

   Impaired hearing

2.7

4.2

< 0.001†

 

   Impaired vision

0.6

1.0

0.006†

 

   Myocardial infarction

2.1

2.8

0.02

 

   Unknown/missing

24.1

17.4

  
  1. *: Forward stepwise logistic regression (entry p < 0.05, removal p < 0.1), adjusted for gender, age and consultation frequency
  2. †: Statistically significant difference between non-dizzy and dizzy patients ≥ 65 years (p < 0.01)
  3. ‡: Linear-by-Linear Association
  4. § Reference: college or university
  5. ||: Criteria: a) ≥ 3 prescriptions per drug during one year of registration
  6. b) > 180 days between first and last date of prescription per drug during one year of registration
  7. OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval; SEM = standard error of the mean