Table I.
Sample characteristics of community-dwelling elderly couples, 1993–2002.
| Female |
Male |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | n | Mean (SD)/(%) | n | Mean (SD)/(%) | p-value |
| CESD * (SD) | |||||
| 1993 | 1816 | 2.04 (2.24) | 1658 | 1.61 (1.93) | <0.0001 |
| 1995 | 1618 | 1.99 (2.23) | 1414 | 1.58 (1.95) | <0.0001 |
| 1998 | 1419 | 2.54 (2.25) | 1134 | 2.04 (1.98) | <0.0001 |
| 2000 | 1231 | 2.59 (2.28) | 926 | 2.09 (2.05) | <0.0001 |
| 2002 | 1065 | 2.57 (2.26) | 720 | 2.11 (2.12) | <0.0001 |
| Give care to spouse (%) | |||||
| 1993 | 1967 | 21.6 | 1967 | 13.3 | <0.0001 |
| 1995 | 1745 | 15.9 | 1843 | 13.8 | <0.0001 |
| 1998 | 1462 | 17.7 | 1679 | 12.6 | <0.0001 |
| 2000 | 1203 | 16.4 | 1509 | 11.4 | <0.0001 |
| 2002 | 956 | 16.6 | 1327 | 8.6 | <0.0001 |
| Age at baseline (SD) | 1967 | 72.75 (6.81) | 1967 | 76.35 (5.77) | <0.0001 |
| Race (% non-white) | 9.9 | 9.7 | |||
| Education (in years) (SD) | 11.33 (3.28) | 10.83 (3.98) | <0.0001 | ||
| Self-rated health† (SD) | |||||
| 1993 | 1966 | 2.97 (1.17) | 1967 | 3.09 (1.18) | 0.0014 |
| 1995 | 1780 | 3.02 (1.15) | 1688 | 3.07 (1.16) | 0.2026 |
| 1998 | 1589 | 3.21 (1.15) | 1391 | 3.28 (1.14) | 0.0961 |
| 2000 | 1410 | 3.11 (1.09) | 1130 | 3.2 (1.13) | 0.0402 |
| 2002 | 1226 | 3.19 (1.10) | 886 | 3.2 (1.12) | 0.8379 |
| Cognition ‡ (SD) | |||||
| 1993 | 1816 | 13.04 (3.17) | 1658 | 12.06 (3.10) | <0.0001 |
| 1995 | 1615 | 13.13 (3.14) | 1414 | 12.10 (2.91) | <0.0001 |
| 1998 | 1419 | 12.87 (3.20) | 1135 | 12.08 (2.92) | <0.0001 |
| 2000 | 1231 | 12.87 (3.08) | 928 | 11.85 (2.85) | <0.0001 |
| 2002 | 1065 | 12.40 (3.20) | 720 | 11.40 (3.08) | <0.0001 |
| I/ADL limitations § (SD) | |||||
| 1993 | 1967 | 0.95 (1.96) | 1967 | 1.06 (2.07) | 0.0871 |
| 1995 | 1849 | 1.21 (2.31) | 1755 | 1.47 (2.33) | 0.0008 |
| 1998 | 1682 | 1.46 (2.60) | 1467 | 1.62 (2.48) | 0.0785 |
| 2000 | 1512 | 1.45 (2.60) | 1206 | 1.70 (2.51) | 0.0115 |
| 2002 | 1334 | 1.62 (2.84) | 960 | 1.80 (2.77) | 0.1304 |
| Doctor visits, n (SD) | |||||
| 1993 | 1945 | 4.7 (5.46) | 1944 | 4.89 (6.03) | 0.3031 |
| 1995 | 1728 | 9.27 (9.06) | 1647 | 9.34 (9.51) | 0.8267 |
| 1998 | 1508 | 10.37 (9.55) | 1322 | 10.44 (9.81) | 0.8477 |
| 2000 | 1400 | 12.27 (18.91) | 1130 | 12.48 (18.77) | 0.7806 |
| 2002 | 1210 | 14.24 (27.57) | 882 | 15.45 (38.14) | 0.3997 |
| Death (% from baseline that died by end of study) |
32.2 | 51.2 | |||
*
0–9; higher values reflect more depressive symptoms.
†
Range: 1 = excellent, to 5 = poor.
‡
Range: 0–20; higher values reflect better cognition.
§
Range: 0–11, reflecting the number of activities for which the person needs help. Higher scores indicate more disability.