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Table 1 Descriptive information of the CRELES Costa Rican elderly at baseline: 2004–2006 (weighted estimates)

From: Projected impact of diabetes on the Costa Rican healthcare system

Characteristic, n = 2827 unless otherwise noted

Elderly populationa

Total

Non- diabetic

Diabetic

Sociodemographics

Education: % with complete primary,

49,0

49,6

46,8

Low income, 2799

40,6

40,7

40,2

Sex

  Male

47,5

49,8

38,8***

  Female

52,5

50,3

61,2***

Age

  60–69 yrs

53,8

53,5

54,7**

  70–79 yrs

31,6

30,6

35,3***

  80+

14,7

15,9

10,0***

Risk factors

Waist circumference, 2632

  Normal

31,7

35,7

16,7***

  Increased risk of metabolic complications

23,2

23,7

21,3

  Substantially increased risk of metabolic complications

45,1

40,7

62,0***

Body Mass Index, 2698

  Underweight

3,3

4,0

0,6***

  Normal

28,5

31,4

17,2***

  Overweight

42,1

42,1

42,2**

  Obese

26,1

22,5

40,0***

Behavioral health risks

Smoking, 2810

  Never

35,7

36,0

34,7

  Former active or passive smoker

38,9

39,9

35,2**

  Current passive smoker

13,8

13,1

16,5*

  Current active smoker

11,6

11,0

13,7*

Alcohol,2809

  Never

34,5

34,5

34,6

  Former alcohol drinker

29,7

30,9

24,9***

  Current alcohol drinker

35,8

34,6

40,4***

Calorie daily consumption > =3000, 2819

12,3

13,0

9,8

Regular physical activity

31,3

33,8

22,0***

Geriatric Syndromes

Polypharmacy 2219

34,1

27,1

53,7***

Functional dependency, 2822

11,8

11,6

12,7

Geriatric depression, 1769

   

  Normal

81,9

83,2

77,3*

  Mildly depressed

11,8

11,1

14,3

  Depressed

6,3

5,7

8,3*

Mean cost of health care (2011 USD)

Cost of hospitalization

827

745

1124**

  Age

   60–69 yrs

570

493

841**

   70–79 yrs

952

852

1280**

   80+

1634

1503

2424

Cost of outpatient care

337

319

404**

  Age

   60–69 yrs

328

308

398**

   70–79 yrs

347

328

409**

   80+

355

343

427**

Health condition

 Chronic morbidity

  Hypertension, 2823

64,5

60,0

81,8***

  Dyslipidemiab, 2656

51,2

50,2

55,3***

   Elevated Total/HDL cholesterol ratio, 2654

28,5

27,8

30,8*

   Elevated triglycerides, 2573

44,9

44,2

47,6***

Cardiovascular disease

  Myocardial infarction

4,6

3,7

7,9***

  Ischemic heart attack (no infarction)

12,0

10,9

16,4**

  Stroke

3,8

3,4

5,7*

Cancer

5,8

5,2

8,0

Lung disease

16,6

15,6

20,5**

  1. Significance levels: ***: p < 0.01, **: p < 0.05, *: p < 0.10
  2. aChi-square tests were used for non-diabetic vs. diabetic stratum comparisons of categorical variables. T-tests were used for continuous variables
  3. bDyslipidemia refers to any or both: hypercholesterolemia (Total/HDL ratio) and hypertriglyceridemia