Table 3.
Descriptive characteristics of the study participants by measures of functional and structural components of social connection
| Functional component measures | Structural component measures | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never able to confide in someone close | Often feels lonely | Friends and family visits less than monthly | Does not engage in weekly group activities | Lives alone | ||
| N | 66,638 | 83,915 | 37,580 | 137,801 | 84,472 | 458,146 |
| Female | 27,285 (40.9%) | 52,818 (62.9%) | 15,775 (42.0%) | 75,912 (55.1%) | 49,409 (58.5%) | 250,761 (54.7%) |
| Age | 57.3 (7.9) | 55.5 (8.0) | 55.4 (7.9) | 56.0 (8.0) | 57.8 (7.9) | 56.5 (8.1) |
| Ethnicity | ||||||
| White | 63,067 (94.6%) | 78,476 (93.5%) | 34,328 (91.3%) | 131,333 (95.3%) | 80,670 (95.5%) | 437,462 (95.5%) |
| Mixed | 424 (0.6%) | 653 (0.8%) | 305 (0.8%) | 890 (0.6%) | 622 (0.7%) | 2646 (0.6%) |
| Asiana | 1166 (1.7%) | 1866 (2.2%) | 872 (2.3%) | 2412 (1.8%) | 717 (0.8%) | 6931 (1.5%) |
| Blackb | 1181 (1.8%) | 1748 (2.1%) | 1198 (3.2%) | 1625 (1.2%) | 1615 (1.9%) | 6499 (1.4%) |
| Chinese | 233 (0.3%) | 202 (0.2%) | 248 (0.7%) | 452 (0.3%) | 161 (0.2%) | 1148 (0.3%) |
| ‘Others’ | 567 (0.9%) | 970 (1.2%) | 629 (1.7%) | 1089 (0.8%) | 687 (0.8%) | 3460 (0.8%) |
| Month of assessment | ||||||
| January | 4831 (7.2%) | 5693 (6.8%) | 2600 (6.9%) | 9858 (7.2%) | 5834 (6.9%) | 32,468 (7.1%) |
| February | 5655 (8.5%) | 6880 (8.2%) | 3009 (8.0%) | 11,285 (8.2%) | 7086 (8.4%) | 37,992 (8.3%) |
| March | 6638 (10.0%) | 8329 (9.9%) | 3657 (9.7%) | 13,711 (9.9%) | 8520 (10.1%) | 45,314 (9.9%) |
| April | 5842 (8.8%) | 7305 (8.7%) | 2986 (7.9%) | 11,843 (8.6%) | 7189 (8.5%) | 39,690 (8.7%) |
| May | 6792 (10.2%) | 8879 (10.6%) | 3826 (10.2%) | 14,199 (10.3%) | 8886 (10.5%) | 46,858 (10.2%) |
| June | 6697 (10.0%) | 8752 (10.4%) | 3850 (10.2%) | 14,259 (10.3%) | 8951 (10.6%) | 46,677 (10.2%) |
| July | 5661 (8.5%) | 7359 (8.8%) | 3329 (8.9%) | 12,063 (8.8%) | 7230 (8.6%) | 38,956 (8.5%) |
| August | 4927 (7.4%) | 6373 (7.6%) | 2788 (7.4%) | 10,592 (7.7%) | 6479 (7.7%) | 34,372 (7.5%) |
| September | 4601 (6.9%) | 5961 (7.1%) | 2666 (7.1%) | 9688 (7.0%) | 5826 (6.9%) | 32,942 (7.2%) |
| October | 5501 (8.3%) | 7016 (8.4%) | 3277 (8.7%) | 11,378 (8.3%) | 6822 (8.1%) | 38,783 (8.5%) |
| November | 5576 (8.4%) | 6861 (8.2%) | 3294 (8.8%) | 11,220 (8.1%) | 6976 (8.3%) | 38,202 (8.3%) |
| December | 3917 (5.9%) | 4507 (5.4%) | 2298 (6.1%) | 7705 (5.6%) | 4673 (5.5%) | 25,892 (5.7%) |
| Winter assessmentc | 32,118 (48.2%) | 39,286 (46.8%) | 18,135 (48.3%) | 65,157 (47.3%) | 39,911 (47.2%) | 218,651 (47.7%) |
| Townsend index | − 0.99 (3.27) | − 0.63 (3.34) | − 0.77 (3.36) | − 1.14 (3.14) | − 0.03 (3.43) | − 1.39 (3.04) |
| Current smoker | 9035 (13.6%) | 12,673 (15.1%) | 4983 (13.3%) | 18,510 (13.4%) | 13,083 (15.5%) | 47,234 (10.3%) |
| High alcohol intake | 6747 (10.1%) | 7625 (9.1%) | 3900 (10.4%) | 9238 (6.7%) | 8400 (9.9%) | 41,125 (9.0%) |
| Low physical activity | 15,755 (23.6%) | 20,149 (24.0%) | 8778 (23.4%) | 37,802 (27.4%) | 16,946 (20.1%) | 89,942 (19.6%) |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 28.0 (4.96) | 28.0 (5.39) | 27.5 (5.05) | 27.7 (5.09) | 27.6 (5.20) | 27.4 (4.78) |
| Number of long-term conditions | 1.32 (1.31) | 1.51 (1.41) | 1.24 (1.27) | 1.28 (1.30) | 1.40 (1.35) | 1.20 (1.23) |
Figures given are N (column %) or mean (SD)
BMI body mass index
aAsian or Asian British
bBlack or Black British
cOctober-March; higher Townsend index equates to higher levels of deprivation; high alcohol intake, > 35 (females) and > 50 (males) weekly units of alcohol; low physical activity, < 450 MET minutes per week