| Non-referral group | Referral group | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnoses , n (%) | |||
| Diabetes mellitus | 837 (70.99) | 260 (72.83) | 0.544 |
| Hypertension | 1165 (98.81) | 348 (97.48) | 0.117 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 1155 (98.00) | 351 (98.30) | 0.837 |
| Gout | 233 (19.80) | 65 (18.21) | 0.566 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 296 (25.11) | 91 (25.49) | 0.939 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 93 (7.89) | 25 (7.00) | 0.662 |
| Stroke | 268 (22.73) | 72 (20.17) | 0.343 |
| Dementia | 93 (7.89) | 25 (7.00) | 0.662 |
| Mean number of comorbid diagnoses (SD) | 4.51 (1.01) | 4.46 (1.00) | 0.443 |
| Mean number of comorbid diagnoses by age group (SD) | |||
| 65–69 | 4.54 (1.01) | 4.34 (1.01) | 0.136 |
| 70–74 | 4.48 (1.01) | 4.61 (1.01) | 0.352 |
| 75–79 | 4.55 (1.01) | 4.41 (1.01) | 0.218 |
| 80–84 | 4.52 (1.01) | 4.31 (1.01) | 0.172 |
| 85–89 | 4.50 (1.01) | 4.71 (1.01) | 0.258 |
| ≥90 | 4.39 (1.01) | 4.83 (1.01) | 0.158 |
| Mean blood pressure (SD) a | |||
| Systolic | 133.33 (16.24) | 134.17 (14.54) | 0.357 |
| Diastolic | 67.71 (9.41) | 68.55 (8.94) | 0.125 |
| Mean HbA1c (SD) b | 7.35 (1.34) | 7.46 (1.46) | 0.261 |
P value is taken from χ2 test for categorical, unpaired t-test for continuous variables, and two-way ANOVA for the mean number of comorbid diagnoses by age group.aBlood pressure data available for 1532 patients: 1177 in non-referral and 355 in referral group; bHbA1c data available for 1047/1097 patients with diabetes mellitus: 795 in non-referral and 252 in referral group