Baseline characteristics compared between the PIMS and No PIMs groups (n=1600)
| Characteristic | Total | PIMS | P value | |
| PIMS | No PIMS | |||
| Coverage | 0.250* | |||
| Government | 798 (49.9) | 328 (41.1) | 470 (58.9) | |
| Universal coverage | 720 (45.0) | 268 (37.2) | 452 (62.8) | |
| Cash | 49 (3.1) | 16 (32.7) | 33 (67.3) | |
| State enterprise officer | 17 (1.1) | 9 (52.9) | 8 (47.1) | |
| Social security scheme | 16 (1.0) | 8 (50.0) | 8 (50.0) | |
| Sex | 0.243* | |||
| Female | 1006 (62.9) | 407 (40.5) | 599 (59.5) | |
| Male | 594 (37.1) | 222 (37.4) | 372 (62.6) | |
| Age (years) (median (Q1, Q3)) | 72.0 (68.0, 77.0) | 73.0 (69.0, 77.0) | 71.0 (68.0, 77.0) | 0.005† |
| Number of underlying diseases (median (Q1, Q3)) | 2.0 (2.0, 3.0) | 3.0 (2.0, 3.0) | 2.0 (2.0, 3.0) | <0.001† |
| Type of underlying disease | ||||
| Dyslipidaemia | 1426 (89.1) | 554 (38.8) | 872 (61.2) | 0.316* |
| Hypertension | 1209 (75.6) | 517 (42.8) | 692 (57.2) | <0.001* |
| Diabetes | 552 (34.5) | 299 (54.7) | 248 (45.3) | <0.001* |
| Osteoarthritis | 195 (12.2) | 85 (43.6) | 110 (56.4) | 0.220* |
| Benign prostatic hyperplasia | 130 (8.1) | 41 (31.5) | 89 (68.5) | 0.072* |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 115 (7.2) | 56 (48.7) | 59 (51.3) | 0.041* |
| Psychiatric disease | 67 (4.2) | 40 (59.7) | 27 (40.3) | <0.001* |
| GERD | 38 (2.3) | 22 (57.9) | 16 (42.1) | 0.027* |
| Spinal stenosis | 36 (2.2) | 21 (58.3) | 15 (41.7) | 0.029* |
| Spondylosis | 34 (2.1) | 7 (20.6) | 27 (79.4) | 0.037* |
| Doctor-prescribed drug | <0.001* | |||
| Staff | 1374 (85.9) | 565 (41.1) | 809 (58.9) | |
| Trainee doctor | 226 (14.6) | 64 (28.3) | 162 (71.7) | |
| Diagnosis | <0.001* | |||
| Follow-up only | 889 (55.6) | 309 (34.8) | 580 (65.2) | |
| Presenting with acute illness | 711 (44.4) | 320 (45.0) | 391 (55.0) | |
| Number of clinic visits (median (Q1, Q3)) | 1 (1.0, 2.0) | 1 (1.0, 2.0) | 1 (1.0, 2.0) | 0.523† |
| Number of drugs prescribed (median (Q1, Q3)) | 3 (2.0, 5.0) | 5 (4.0, 7.0) | 3 (2.0, 4.0) | <0.001† |
Data are presented as n (%) unless indicated otherwise.
*χ2 test.
†Wilcoxon rank sum test.
GERD, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; PIMs, potentially inappropriate medications.