Patient characteristics
| Characteristic | HCU (n=175 847) | Non-HCU (n=527 541) | aSD |
| Sociodemographics | |||
| Age, mean (SD), year | 77.7±7.7 | 77.7±7.7 | 0 |
| Sex, female, (%) | 93 119 (53) | 279 501 (53) | 0 |
| Rural Index of Ontario score, mean (SD) | 12.2±18.2 | 11.8±18.2 | 0.02 |
| Low income, (%) | 31 843 (18.1) | 92 566 (17.5) | 0.01 |
| Health status | |||
| Adjusted diagnostic groups, mean (SD)† | 10.2±4.0 | 7.9±4.5 | 0.54 |
| Hypertension, (%)* | 110 692 (63.0) | 282 867 (53.6) | 0.19 |
| Congestive heart failure, (%)† | 25 195 (14.3) | 36 877 (7.0) | 0.24 |
| Chronic obstructive disease pulmonary, (%)† | 48 738 (27.7) | 96 513 (18.3) | 0.23 |
| Diabetes, (%)† | 62 014 (35.3) | 138 794 (26.3) | 0.2 |
| Myocardial infarction, (%)† | 12 892 (7.3) | 24 024 (4.6) | 0.12 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis, (%)† | 5607 (3.2) | 9334 (1.8) | 0.09 |
| Malignancy, (%)* | 56 855 (32.3) | 123 932 (23.5) | 0.2 |
| Mental health condition, (%)* | 67 441 (38.4) | 144 377 (27.4) | 0.24 |
aSD with aSD>0.1 indicating meaningful difference between HCU and non-HCU.
*Constructed based on expanded diagnosis codes.
†ICES-derived cohort.
aSD, absolute standardised difference; HCU, high-cost user; ICES, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.