Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample as a whole and by a history of hypothyroidism
| All n = 1245 | History of hypothyroidism | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No n = 1113 | Yes n = 132 | |||
| Age | 78.6 (9.3) | 78.6 (9.4) | 78.4 (8.3) | 0.859 |
| Sex (female) | 605 (48.6) | 504 (45.3) | 101 (76.5) | < 0.001 |
| Smoking habits* | ||||
| Never | 433 (34.8) | 374 (33.6) | 59 (44.7) | 0.015 |
| Former | 178 (14.3) | 166 (14.9) | 12 (9.1) | 0.094 |
| Current | 33 (2.7) | 31 (2.8) | 2 (1.5) | 0.567 |
| Mobility level* | ||||
| Moves indipendently | 708 (56.9) | 620 (55.7) | 88 (66.7) | 0.021 |
| Uses walking aid/moves with wheelchair | 181 (14.5) | 160 (14.4) | 21 (15.9) | 0.732 |
| Wheelchair assisted/bedridden | 271 (21.8) | 249 (22.4) | 22 (16.7) | 0.164 |
| Living arrangements | ||||
| Lives at home, autonomous | 842 (67.6) | 738 (66.3) | 104 (78.8) | 0.01 |
| Lives at home assisted/NH | 220 (17.7) | 202 (18.1) | 18 (13.6) | |
| Chronic diseases | ||||
| Hypertension | 828 (66.5) | 725 (65.1) | 103 (78.0) | 0.004 |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 714 (57.3) | 630 (56.6) | 84 (63.6) | 0.147 |
| Diabetes | 304 (24.4) | 268 (24.1) | 36 (27.3) | 0.484 |
| COPD | 189 (15.2) | 164 (14.7) | 25 (18.9) | 0.252 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 159 (12.8) | 135 (12.1) | 24 (18.2) | 0.067 |
| Depression | 211 (16.9) | 183 (16.4) | 28 (21.2) | 0.208 |
| Cognitive disorders | 207 (16.6) | 187 (16.8) | 20 (15.2) | 0.721 |
| Obesity | 176 (14.1) | 148 (13.3) | 28 (21.2) | 0.02 |
Missing in smoking habits n = 601, in mobility n = 85, in living arrangements n = 183
Numbers are count (%)
COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, NH nursing home
p values < 0.05 are shown in bold
*A p value < 0.017 should be considered as statistically significant according to Bonferroni correction for multiple comparison