Health conditions and access to healthcare of US National Health Interview Survey participants by emergency department visit frequency during the previous 12 months
| 0 ED visits (n=124 433) | 1–3 ED visits (n=29 971) | 4–9 ED visits (n=2803) | ≥10 ED visits (n=611) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) |
| Health conditions | ||||
| Health status | ||||
| Excellent–very good (n=92 125) | 65.0 (64.6 to 65.4) | 48.4 (47.6 to 49.2) | 25.4 (23.4 to 27.6) | 19.4 (15.7 to 23.7) |
| Good (n=42 839) | 25.4 (25.1 to 25.7) | 29.8 (29.2 to 30.1) | 26.8 (24.7 to 29.0) | 26.0 (21.4 to 31.3) |
| Fair–poor (n=22 769) | 9.6 (9.4 to 9.9) | 21.7 (21.1 to 22.4) | 47.8 (45.3 to 50.2) | 54.6 (49.6 to 59.6) |
| Missing (n=5700) | 3.6 (3.4 to 3.8) | 2.9 (2.6 to 3.2) | 2.9 (2.2 to 3.7) | nc |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | ||||
| <20 (n=8803) | 5.7 (5.6 to 5.9) | 5.8 (5.5 to 6.2) | 7.0 (5.9 to 8.3) | 8.6 (6.2 to 11.8) |
| 20–24.9 (n=49 827) | 32.3 (31.9 to 32.6) | 29.6 (29.0 to 30.3) | 27.2 (24.9 to 29.6) | 28.6 (24.1 to 33.6) |
| 25–29.9 (n=53 466) | 34.5 (34.2 to 34.8) | 32.4 (31.7 to 33.0) | 26.5 (24.4 to 28.8) | 24.6 (20.6 to 29.1) |
| ≥30 (n=40 022) | 23.9 (23.5 to 24.2) | 29.3 (28.7 to 30.0) | 36.4 (33.8 to 39.1) | 34.3 (29.7 to 39.2) |
| Missing (n=5700) | 3.6 (3.4 to 3.8) | 2.9 (2.6 to 3.2) | 2.9 (2.2 to 3.7) | nc |
| Alcohol use | ||||
| Lifetime abstainer (n=37 892) | 22.8% (22.3 to 23.2) | 21.4% (20.7 to 22.0) | 25.4% (23.2 to 27.7) | 28.7% (24.2 to 33.6) |
| Former (n=23 887) | 13.3% (13.0 to 13.6) | 17.8% (17.2 to 18.4) | 23.6% (21.5 to 25.7) | 22.1% (18.4 to 26.4) |
| Current light (n=63 333) | 41.9% (41.5 to 42.3) | 40.4% (39.6 to 41.2) | 35.1% (32.6 to 37.8) | 37.1% (32.1 to 42.4) |
| Current moderate/heavy (n=29 041) | 19.7% (19.3 to 20.1) | 18.6% (18.0 to 19.2) | 14.5% (12.8 to 16.4) | 9.8% (7.2 to 13.3) |
| Missing (n=3665) | 2.3% (2.2 to 2.5) | 1.9% (1.7 to 2.1) | 1.4% (1.0 to 2.0) | nc |
| Cigarette use | ||||
| Never smoker (n=91 360) | 59.9 (59.5 to 60.3) | 50.8 (50.0 to 51.6) | 43.0 (40.5 to 45.6) | 36.5 (32.4 to 40.8) |
| Current everyday (n=33 647) | 21.1 (20.8 to 21.5) | 23.4 (22.8 to 24.0) | 21.9 (19.9 to 24.1) | 20.6 (16.6 to 25.2) |
| Former smoker (n=31 971) | 19.0 (18.7 to 19.3) | 25.9 (25.1 to 26.6) | 35.1 (32.7 to 37.6) | 43.0 (38.3 to 47.8) |
| Hypertension (n=40 324) | 21.7 (21.4 to 22.0) | 30.1 (29.5 to 30.8) | 40.5 (38.3 to 42.7) | 44.6 (39.9 to 49.4) |
| Diabetes (n=13 676) | 6.8 (6.6 to 7.0) | 11.4 (11.0 to 11.9) | 18.3 (16.4 to 20.4) | 22.3 (18.7 to 26.4) |
| Coronary artery disease (n=10 930) | 5.0 (4.8 to 5.1) | 10.9 (10.4 to 11.3) | 19.9 (17.9 to 21.9) | 19.7 (16.1 to 23.8) |
| Stroke (n=4630) | 1.8 (1.7 to 1.9) | 5.0 (4.7 to 5.3) | 9.8 (8.6 to 11.0) | 11.1 (8.8 to 14.0) |
| Asthma (n=11 639) | 5.9 (5.7 to 6.0) | 11.5 (11.0 to 12.0) | 22.2 (20.2 to 24.3) | 22.7 (18.9 to 27.1) |
| Emphysema (n=3023) | 1.3 (1.2 to 1.4) | 3.3 (3.1 to 3.6) | 6.5 (5.5 to 7.6) | 10.2 (7.3 to 14.1) |
| Cancer (n=12 268) | 6.8 (6.7 to 7.0) | 9.7 (9.3 to 10.2) | 13.6 (12.1 to 15.3) | 12.5 (9.8 to 15.8) |
| Access to healthcare | ||||
| Place usually go when sick | ||||
| None (n=24 478) | 16.1 (15.7 to 16.5) | 12.8 (12.3 to 13.4) | 9.0 (7.7 to 10.5) | 9.7 (7.0 to 13.3) |
| Emergency department (n=1606) | 0.5 (0.5 to 0.6) | 2.2 (2.0 to 2.4) | 5.5 (4.6 to 6.7) | 10.0 (7.2 to 13.8) |
| Outpatient clinic (n=131 575) | 83.4 (83.0 to 83.8) | 85.0 (84.4 to 85.6) | 85.5 (83.7 to 87.1) | 80.3 (75.9 to 84.1) |
| Health insurance | ||||
| Any private (n=98 705) | 69.2 (68.7 to 69.6) | 60.1 (59.3 to 60.9) | 39.7 (37.2 to 42.3) | 34.0 (29.5 to 38.8) |
| Medicaid (±Medicare) (n=13 426) | 5.1 (4.9 to 5.3) | 11.5 (11.0 to 12.0) | 26.4 (24.3 to 28.5) | 33.9 (29.5 to 38.7) |
| Medicare only (n=12 736) | 6.2 (6.0 to 6.4) | 8.5 (8.1 to 9.0) | 10.6 (9.3 to 12.0) | 9.4 (7.2 to 12.1) |
| Other (n=4893) | 2.6 (2.4 to 2.7) | 3.6 (3.4 to 3.9) | 5.1 (3.9 to 6.5) | 5.2 (3.6 to 7.4) |
| Not covered (n=27 552) | 17.0 (16.7 to 17.3) | 16.3 (15.7 to 16.9) | 18.3 (16.5 to 20.4) | 17.6 (14.0 to 21.8) |
| No of outpatient visits in past 12 months | ||||
| None (n=30 227) | 22.4 (22.0 to 22.7) | 8.1 (7.7 to 8.6) | 5.5 (4.5 to 6.7) | 6.6 (4.5 to 9.4) |
| 1–3 (n=65 316) | 45.4 (45.0 to 45.8) | 35.8 (35.0 to 36.6) | 12.0 (10.5 to 13.7) | 7.0 (4.6 to 10.6) |
| 4–9 (n=38 345) | 22.0 (21.7 to 22.3) | 30.9 (30.2 to 31.6) | 34.8 (32.5 to 37.0) | 13.7 (10.8 to 17.2) |
| ≥10 (n=22 735) | 10.2 (10.0 to 10.5) | 25.2 (24.5 to 25.8) | 47.8 (45.6 to 50.0) | 72.7 (68.1 to 77.0) |
| Mental healthcare in past 12 months (n=11 350) | 5.5 (5.3 to 5.6) | 11.6 (11.1 to 12.1) | 21.9 (20.0 to 23.8) | 26.7 (23.0 to 30.8) |
ED, emergency department; nc, not calculable due to <30 observations; ‘n’, represents number of observations in the National Health Interview Survey; percentages represented weighted proportions to estimate the entire US population.