Table 2 Characteristics of the patients' caregivers and families.

	Male (n = 388) % (95% CI)	Female (n = 883) % (95% CI)	Total (n = 1271) % (95%CI)
Age (years), median (25p, 75p)	52 (44, 62)	54 (43, 65)	54 (43,64)
Geographical area
Northwest	29 (18 to 44)	32 (21 to 45)	31 (21 to 44)
Northeast	21 (14 to 29)	22 (14 to 32)	21 (14 to 30)
Central	23 (16 to 31)	23 (16 to 33)	23 (16 to 31)
South	27 (18 to 39)	24 (15 to 35)	25 (17 to 35)
Total	100	100	100
Relation with the patient
Husband–wife	20 (16 to 25)	36 (31 to 41)	31 (27 to 35)
Son–daughter	57 (51 to 64)	41 (37 to 46)	46 (46 to 51)
Other relatives/friends	19 (16 to 23)	21 (17 to 24)	20 (18 to 23)
Doctor/nurse	3 (2 to 6)	2 (2 to 4)	3 (2–4)
Total	100	100	100
Educational level (years)
Degree	18 (15 to 22)	9 (7 to 12)	12 (10 to 14)
>13	37 (32 to 43)	31 (28 to 35)	33 (30 to 36)
8–12	21 (16 to 28)	19 (16 to 23)	20 (16 to 24)
0–7	18 (13 to 24)	34 (30 to 38)	29 (25 to 32)
MI	5 (2 to 12)	7 (4 to 13)	7 (4 to 13)
Total	100	100	100
Patient's sex
Male	42 (37 to 48)	64 (59 to 69)	57 (54 to 61)
Female	58 (52 to 63)	36 (31 to 41)	43 (39 to 46)
Total	100	100	100

Characteristics of the household by patients' gender
	Males (n = 730) % (95% CI)	Female (n = 541) % (95% CI)	Total (n = 1271) % (95% CI)
Number of cohabitants
0	8 (6 to 11)	18 (14 to 22)	12 (10 to 15)
1	45 (40 to 50)	37 (32 to 42)	42 (38 to 46)
⩾2	47 (41 to 53)	45 (39 to 50)	46 (41 to 51)
Total	100	100	100
Cohabitants only during the disease
0	90 (86 to 92)	83 (78 to 88)	87 (84 to 89)
1	5 (4 to 7)	11 (8 to 15)	8 (6 to 10)
⩾2	5 (4 to 7)	6 (4 to 8)	5 (4 to 7)
Total	100	100	100
Institutionalised
Yes	5 (4 to 8)	13 (9 to 17)	9 (6 to 12)
No or not known	95 (92 to 97)	87 (83 to 91)	91 (88 to 94)
Total	100	100	100

MI, missing information; p, percentile.