Continuity of Care with a Primary Care Physician and Mortality in Older Adults

Background: We examined whether older adults who had continuity of care with a primary care physician (PCP) had lower mortality. Results: Two thousand nine hundred and fifty-four (54%) participants died during the follow-up period. Using the cumulative exposure measure, 27% never had continuity of care, whereas 31%, 20%, 14%, and 8%, respectively, had continuity for 1%–33%, 34%–67%, 68%–99%, and 100% of their follow-up days. Adjusted for demographics, socioeconomic status, social support, health lifestyle, and morbidity, both measures of continuity were associated (p < .001) with lower mortality (adjusted hazard ratios of 0.84 for the present exposure measure and 0.31, 0.39, 0.46, and 0.62, respectively, for the 1%–33%, 34%–67%, 68%–99%, and 100% categories of the cumulative exposure measure).