Table 1.

Men under age 65, Health and Retirement Study, 1996 – 2008

Sample inclusion criteria	Observations
Consecutive-wave observationsa	39,896
Individuals	10,258
Aged 18 to 64 years at 2nd interviewb	5,253
Married at 1st interview	4,354
Employedc at 1st interview	2,770
Respondent ECHI or insurance through spouse employer (non-ECHI)d at 1st interview	2,160
No fair or poor health or hospitalization for more than 1 night or more than 2 occasions in the two years prior to first interview, and no previous diagnosis of cancer, lung disease, angina, or congestive heart failure	1,709
No non-valid missing data for required variables	1,582
Men with ECHI at 1st interview	1,379
New diagnosis of an includede disease	103
Hospitalizedf between 1st and 2nd interview	209
Decline in health self-reportg between 1st and 2nd interview	171
Men with insurance through spouse employer (non-ECHI) at 1st interview	203
New diagnosis of an includede disease	22
Hospitalizedf between 1st and 2nd interview	36
Decline in health self-reportg between 1st and 2nd interview	25

^aAn observation is defined as two consecutive interviews with the same individual.

^b‘1st interview’ and ‘2^nd interview’ refer to the pair of interviews that make up an observation.

^cWorking for pay with positive earnings.

^dECHI or insurance through the spouse’s employer includes current employer or union-based health insurance. It excludes privately-purchased or former employer-based insurance in addition to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government-provided health insurance. “ECHI” refers to insurance from the respondent’s employer or union.

^eIncluded diseases are cancer, lung disease, angina, congestive heart failure, and stroke.

^fHospitalized for at least 2 nights or on 2 occasions since the 1^st interview.

^gHealth decline defined as a drop from excellent, very good, or good at the 1^st interview to fair or poor at the 2^nd interview.