The differential rates in cost-related non-adherence to medical care by gender in the US adult population

Figures & data

Table 1. CRN across socioeconomic stratum by gender.

	Men (n = 11,716) (100%)	Women (n = 14,571) (100%)	p-value
Age			<.01
18–24	1,006 (9)	1,694 (12)
25–34	2,022 (17)	2,693 (18)
35–44	1,982 (17)	2,383 (16)
45–54	2,253 (19)	2,604 (18)
55–64	2,211 (19)	2,451 (17)
65+	2,242 (19)	2,747 (19)
Race			<.01
Non-white	3,053 (26)	4,139 (28)
Household income			<.01
<$15k	1,089 (9)	1,756 (12)
$15k–25k	1,057 (9)	1,770 (12)
$25k–35k	1,060 (9)	1,771 (12)
$35k–50k	1,506 (13)	2,375 (16)
$50k–75k	2,474 (21)	2,961 (20)
$75k–100k	1,759 (15)	1,850 (13)
$100k–150k	1,850 (16)	1,431 (10)
$150k+	921 (8)	657 (5)
Educational attainment			<.01
Did not complete High School (HS)	200 (2)	318 (2)
HS—regular	1,609 (14)	2,545 (17)
HS—GED or alternative	661 (6)	920 (6)
Some college, no degree	3,204 (27)	4,201 (29)
Associate’s degree	1,215 (10)	1,676 (12)
Bachelor’s degree	2,881 (25)	3,214 (22)
Post-graduate degree	1,946 (17)	1,705 (12)
Marital status			<.01
Married	6,753 (58)	7,766 (53)
Single	3,564 (30)	3,900 (27)
Separated	141 (1)	194 (1)
Divorced	1,018 (9)	1,824 (13)
Widowed/widower	239 (2)	887 (6)
Financially dependent children			<.01
0 or no children	7,741 (66)	8,900 (61)
1 child	1,687 (14)	2,442 (17)
2 children	1,525 (13)	1,945 (13)
3 children	512 (4)	837 (6)
4 or more children	251 (2)	447 (3)
Permanently sick, disabled, or unable  to work	472 (4)	703 (5)	<.01
Health insurance status			.02
Not covered by health insurance	1,192 (10)	1,360 (9)
Difficulty to pay monthly bills			<.01
Not at all difficult	6,683 (57)	6,670 (46)
Somewhat difficult	4,054 (35)	6,106 (42)
Very difficult	981 (8)	1,795 (12)

All comparisons are by Chi-square tests across gender and socio-economic strata.

Figure 1. Cost-related medication non-adherence by gender and age. Age groups: 1, 18–24; 2, 25–34; 3, 35–44; 4, 45–54; 5, 55–64; 6, 65+. Error bars represent 95% CIs. CRN rates (the proportion of those who report CRN) were indicated vertically.

Figure 2. Cost-related medication non-adherence by gender and household income. Household income: 1, Less than $15,000; 2, At least $15,000, but less than $25,000; 3, At least $25,000, but less than $35,000; 4, At least $35,000, but less than $50,000; 5, At least $50,000, but less than $75,000; 6, At least $75,000, but less than $100,000; 7, At least $100,000, but less than $150,000; 8, $150,000 or more. Error bars represent 95% CIs. CRN rates (the proportion of those who report CRN) were indicated vertically.

Figure 3. Cost-related medication non-adherence by gender and number of financially dependent children. Number of children was defined as the number of financially dependent children, with 0 as no child or no financially dependent child. Error bars represent 95% CIs. CRN rates (the proportion of those who report CRN) were indicated vertically.

Table 2. Associations between socio-demographic variables and cost-related non-adherence to medical care.

	Adjusted odds ratio	95% CI
Age
18–24	referent	referent
25–34	0.89	0.79–1.00
35–44	0.74	0.65–0.84
45–54	0.67	0.59–0.76
55–64	0.54	0.47–0.62
65+	0.37	0.32–0.43
Gender
Men	0.74	0.69–0.79
Race
Non-white	0.96	0.90–1.03
Household income
<$15k	referent	referent
$15k–25k	1.59	1.40–1.80
$25k–35k	1.62	1.42–1.84
$35k–50k	1.45	1.28–1.64
$50k–75k	1.45	1.28–1.64
$75k–100k	1.33	1.158–1.54
$100k–150k	1.06	0.91–1.25
$150k+	0.74	0.60–0.92
Educational attainment
Did not complete HS	referent	referent
HS—regular	0.90	0.72–1.12
HS—GED or alternative	1.22	0.97–1.55
Some college, no degree	1.10	0.89–1.36
Associate’s degree	1.05	0.83–1.31
Bachelor’s degree	1.03	0.83–1.29
Post graduate degree	1.16	0.92–1.46
Marital status
Married	referent	referent
Single	0.79	0.72–0.87
Separated	1.10	0.85–1.43
Divorced	1.01	0.91–1.13
Widowed/widower	0.94	0.78–1.12
Financially dependent children
0 or no children	referent	referent
1 child	1.32	1.21–1.44
2 children	1.35	1.22–1.49
3 children	1.49	1.30–1.71
4 or more children	1.46	1.22–1.75
Permanently sick, disabled, or unable to work	1.53	1.33–1.75
Not covered by health insurance	1.93	1.76–2.13
Difficulty to pay monthly bills
Not at all difficult	referent	referent
Somewhat difficult	2.87	2.66–3.08
Very difficult	6.63	5.99–7.34
Overall model performance: Area Under ROC (C statistic)	0.75

Results from multivariable logistic regression analysis.