Table 1

Baseline characteristics of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, by prefecture-level per capita health expenditure

Low-spending prefecturesMedium-spending prefecturesHigh-spending prefecturesp Value
Number of patients332 213 (53.7%)155 077 (25.1%)130 864 (21.2%)
Demographic characteristics
 Age, median (IQR), year78 (67–85)78 (67–85)78 (67–85)<0.01
 Male sex58.1%57.4%58.0%<0.01
Clinical characteristics
Aetiology of arrest<0.01
 Non-cardiac32.8%27.9%36.4%
 Cardiac67.2%72.1%63.6%
VF or pulseless VT as initial cardiac rhythm8.3%8.9%9.3%<0.01
Response characteristics
Type of bystander-witness status<0.01
 No witness58.2%56.7%58.5%
 Layperson33.3%34.2%32.9%
 Healthcare provider8.5%9.1%8.6%
CPR by bystander<0.01
 No bystander CPR62.1%57.8%58.6%
 Compression-only CPR26.7%28.2%28.4%
 Conventional CPR11.2%13.9%13.0%
Use of public-access AED by bystander0.7%0.6%0.6%<0.01
Prefecture-level characteristics
 Per capita income (US$)25 343 (3901)21 827 (2674)22 764 (1923)<0.01
  • Samples are those cases with no missing data on all variables used in the regression analysis. Data are expressed as n (%) for categorical variables and mean (SD) for continuous variables, unless otherwise indicated. p Values are calculated using the χ2 test for categorical variables and ANOVA for continuous variables. Conventional CPR consists of chest compression and rescue breathing.

  • AED, automated external defibrillator; ANOVA, analysis of variance; CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation; VF, ventricular fibrillation; VT, ventricular tachycardia.