Table 2.
Characteristics of the study participants with data on blood pressure
| Characteristic | 1920–30 birth cohort (n = 2682) |
1931–39 birth cohort (n = 2986) |
|---|---|---|
| Age at interview, years | 65.7 (3.10) | 66.1 (2.85) |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 159.2 (23.7) | 133.3 (19.3) |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg | 85.3 (12.6) | 70.7 (11.3) |
| Height, m | 1.67 (0.09) | 1.68 (0.09) |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 26.9 (4.01) | 27.4 (4.34) |
| Birthweight, kg | 3.50 (0.55) | 3.43 (0.53) |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 1653 (62.8) | 1574 (52.7) |
| Female | 9977 (37.2) | 1412 (47.3) |
| Father’s social class | ||
| Non-manual | 372 (14.1) | 452 (15.4) |
| Manual | 2105 (80.03) | 2350 (78.7) |
| Unclassified | 155 (5.89) | 184 (6.16) |
| Current social class | ||
| Non-manual | 990 (37.6) | 1207 (40.4) |
| Manual | 1615 (61.42) | 1730 (57.9) |
| Unclassified | 27 (1.03) | 49 (1.64) |
| Anti-hypertensive drugs | ||
| Yes | 776 (29.5) | 1083 (36.3) |
| No | 1856 (70.5) | 1903 (63.7) |
| Hypertensive | ||
| Yes | 1609 (61.1) | 1203 (40.3) |
| No | 1023 (38.9) | 1783 (59.7) |
| Diarrhoea in infancy | ||
| Yes | 64 (2.96) | 107 (3.58) |
| No | 2096 (97.0) | 2879 (96.4) |
| Diarrhoea aged 1–5 years | ||
| Yes | 32 (1.44) | 23 (0.77) |
| No | 2185 (98.6) | 2963 (99.2) |
| Method of infant feeding | ||
| Breast | 1793 (68.1) | 1786 (59.8) |
| Bottle | 146 (5.35) | 274 (9.18) |
| Breast and bottle | 693 (26.3) | 926 (31.0) |
Percentages do not always add up to 100 due to rounding.