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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Soc Sci Med. 2010 Oct 15;72(1):100–107. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.09.040

Table 1.

Sample Characteristics, Ages 50 and Above, Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)1 (percent unless otherwise noted)

Characteristics Male Female
Adult Lower Body Functional Limitations (LBFL)
Mean LBFL (Std. Dev) 2.0 (2.3) 3.0 (2.5)
Age, mean (Std. Dev.) 61.5 (9.3) 62.3 (9.3)
Early life conditions
 Born in a high migration state
  Yes 33.0 33.1
  No 67.0 66.9
 Often went to bed hungry before age 10
  Yes 35.6 30.8
  No 63.6 68.1
  Missing 0.8 1.1
 Serious health problems before age 10
  Yes 10.6 11.5
  No 87.7 87.2
  Missing 1.8 1.3
 Father’s occupation
  Agriculture 58.3 54.7
  Office/Professional 3.0 3.0
  Other nonagricultural 29.1 30.7
  Other2 5.5 6.0
  Had no father/guardian 2.5 3.1
  Missing 1.7 2.5
 Mother’s education 50.9 50.1
  None 34.8 35.7
  Elementary school 3.9 4.3
  Junior high school or above 10.4 9.8
  Missing
Adult sociodemographic characteristics
 Respondent’s education
  None 21.4 27.9
  Some elementary school 35.0 34.5
  Completed elementary school 19.5 17.6
  Junior high school 8.0 5.4
  High school or above 16.0 14.6
  Missing 0.1 0.0
 Respondent’s occupation
  Professional/ administrative 15.1 8.7
  Agriculture/forestry 26.9 6.6
  Other industries 57.3 54.7
  Never had a job 0.3 29.9
  Missing 0.3 0.2
 Individual income
  No income or negative income (%) 10.1 19.3
  Mean (Std. Dev.) of positive income (US $) 769.0 (4,454.6) 603.2 (4,499.1)
 Household assets
  No assets or negative assets (%) 5.6 9.7
  Mean (Std. Dev.) of positive assets(US $) 56,189.0 (107,691.2) 47430.5 (76,428.4)
 Married or in consensual union
  Yes 75.5 40.1
  No 24.6 59.9
Health behaviors & indicators
 Smoking behavior
  Never 33.4 74.8
  Started smoking before age 16 27.4 5.9
  Started smoking at age 16 or older 38.4 18.9
  Missing 0.8 0.4
 Body mass index (BMI)
  Underweight 1.4 1.9
  Normal weight 31.9 22.8
  Overweight 36.9 29.4
  Obese 17.2 20.1
  Missing 12.6 25.7
Chronic diseases & symptoms
 Have diabetes
  Yes 13.6 18.1
  No 85.9 81.6
  Missing 0.5 0.3
 Have arthritis
  Yes 13.8 23.5
  No 85.9 76.3
  Missing 0.3 0.2
 Often suffer from pain
  Yes 32.9 45.5
  No 67.1 54.5
  Missing 0.1 0
1

Respondents with a proxy interview and those with missing data for functional status have been excluded.

2

Other refers to childcare and occupations not specified in the questionnaire. It also includes those who did not work.