Table 1.
Characteristics of the oldest old Chinese in the 1998 baseline survey1
| Explanatory variable | Total (N= 8,099) | Died 1998–2005 (N=6,240) | Alive2 (N=1,859) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | |||
| Age (Std. Dev.) | 92.6 (7.6) | 94.0 (7.3) | 87.8 (6.7) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 39.5 | 39.0 | 41.2 |
| Female | 60.5 | 61.0 | 58.8 |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Han | 92.2 | 92.0 | 92.9 |
| Other | 7.6 | 7.8 | 6.9 |
| Missing | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Early-life conditions | |||
| Siblings | |||
| Multiple children, mixed sex | 68.6 | 67.5 | 72.2 |
| Multiple children, single sex | 14.7 | 14.9 | 14.3 |
| Single child | 8.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 |
| Missing | 8.0 | 8.8 | 5.5 |
| Place of birth | |||
| Rural | 86.3 | 87.7 | 81.6 |
| Urban | 13.7 | 12.2 | 18.4 |
| Missing | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Father’s occupation | |||
| Agricultural3 | 72.8 | 74.3 | 68.0 |
| Professional/administrative | 4.4 | 3.8 | 6.5 |
| Other non- agricultural4 | 15.5 | 14.3 | 19.6 |
| Housework and Other5 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 5.4 |
| Missing | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Arm length (Std. Dev.)6 | 49.6 (5.9) | 49.5 (5.9) | 49.8 (5.8) |
| Missing % | 3.8 | 3.3 | 5.3 |
| Adult characteristics | |||
| Education | |||
| No schooling | 68.3 | 70.6 | 60.5 |
| 1+ years of schooling | 31.2 | 28.8 | 39.1 |
| Missing | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Occupation before age 60 | |||
| Agricultural3 | 57.0 | 59.4 | 49.1 |
| Professional/administrative | 6.1 | 4.6 | 10.9 |
| Other non-agricultural4 | 16.1 | 15.0 | 20.0 |
| Housework and Other5 | 20.8 | 21.0 | 20.0 |
| Missing | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Financial support | |||
| Family only | 62.0 | 64.1 | 55.3 |
| Family and others | 17.5 | 18.3 | 14.9 |
| Pension only | 5.4 | 4.1 | 9.6 |
| Pension and other | 9.4 | 7.9 | 14.6 |
| Government only | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.3 |
| Other7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 |
| Missing | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Health behaviors | |||
| Alcohol consumption | |||
| Never | 66.7 | 66.3 | 68.1 |
| Ever | 33.1 | 33.5 | 31.6 |
| Missing | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Smoking | |||
| Never | 68.5 | 69.1 | 66.4 |
| Ever | 31.3 | 30.7 | 33.3 |
| Missing | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Exercise | |||
| Never | 71.9 | 74.8 | 62.0 |
| Ever | 27.9 | 24.9 | 37.8 |
| Missing | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
1
This table is based on un-weighted data.
2
Includes 1,010 respondents known to be alive in 2005 and those (849) known to be alive in 2000 but lost to follow-up after 2000;
3
Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery;
4
Industrial worker, commercial or service worker, and military personnel;
5
Not specified in the questionnaire.
6
Among those who have no missing value on arm length;
7
Work or other resources not specified.
Source: Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS)