Characteristics of the hospital patients
| Baseline characteristics* | 2013 (n=960) | 2017 (n=1049) |
| Sex | ||
| Female (%) | 58.1 | 57.8 |
| Male (%) | 41.9 | 42.2 |
| Age group | ||
| 65–84 years (%) | 71.8 | 70.7 |
| ≥85 years (%) | 28.2 | 29.3 |
| Type of ward | ||
| Internal medicine (%) | 39.9 | 37.1 |
| Surgical departments (%) | 41.2 | 40.8 |
| Geriatrics (%) | 19.0 | 22.1 |
| Sleep-inducing medication at admission | ||
| None (%) | 67.1 | 68.3 |
| Regular/daily use (%) | 21.8 | 19.8 |
| Use as needed (prn prescription) (%) | 3.8 | 4.5 |
| Regular and additional ‘as needed’ (%) | 3.5 | 3.2 |
| No documentation (%) | 3.9 | 4.2 |
| Psychiatric/neurological disorder | ||
| Any diagnosis (%) | 24.1 | 22.3 |
| Dementia (%) | 13.9 | 12.3 |
| Depression (%) | 9.7 | 8.2 |
| Anxiety or panic disorder (%) | 1.4 | 2.1 |
| Sleeping disturbance (%) | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Any diagnosis and any regular sleep-inducing medication at admission | 14.2 | 12.0 |
| Where the patient came from | ||
| Home (%) | 66.3 | 67.9 |
| Nursing home (%) | 14.7 | 12.6 |
| Other hospital (%) | 6.2 | 5.3 |
| Other department of same hospital (%) | 12.6 | 12.5 |
| Unknown (%) | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| Length of stay | ||
| Days, mean±SD | 9.7±7.6 | 9.6±8.0 |
*All differences between the two groups were non-significant (p>0.05).