Table 2. Descriptive statistics for the dependent and independent variables used in the analysis – sample population, Costa Rica (ages 60 to 109, both sexes combined, years 2004-2006)a.
| Variables | % or Mean (SD) | Range | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dependent | |||
| Neuroendocrine allostatic load (NAL)b | 0.85 (0.96) | 0-4 | 1332 |
| Independent | |||
| Demographic | |||
| Age | 70.5 (8.11) | 60-109 | 2827 |
| Female sex | 53% | -- | 2827 |
| Low education (< 6 years) | 51% | -- | 2827 |
| Rural residence (v. urban) | 37% | -- | 2827 |
| Immigrant (v. native born) | 5% | -- | 2817 |
| Economic resources | |||
| Household wealthc | 2.13 (0.62) | 1-3 | 2780 |
| Monthly income (colones in thousands) | 190.23 (539.2) | 0-10,548 | 2738 |
| Self-assessed economic situationd | 3.6 (0.94) | 1-5 | 2811 |
| Spousal characteristics | |||
| Low education (< 6 years) | 43% | -- | 2827 |
| Serious health problem | 36% | -- | 1402 |
| Social deprivation | |||
| Currently unmarried (v. curr. married) | 40% | -- | 2817 |
| Lives alone | 10% | -- | 2823 |
| Low church attendance (< weekly) | 50% | -- | 2822 |
| Loss | |||
| No. of children who have died (>= 1) | 36% | -- | 2818 |
| Length of widowhood (years)e | 14.1 (12.0) | 0-70 | 785 |
| Early childhood conditions | |||
| Maternal age at death | 74.8 (17.1) | 17-115 | 2302 |
| Low maternal education (no edu.) | 69% | -- | 2245 |
| Lived without biological father | 21% | -- | 2114 |
| Poor health (>= 1 health problems) | 22% | -- | 2090 |
| Economic deprivation indexf | 2.0 (1.3) | 0-4 | 2103 |
| Cumulative adversity | |||
| Overall stressor index | 3.8 (2.3) | 0-13 | 1764 |
Note:
a
Tabulations based on weighted data.
b
Respondents received one point toward their neuroendocrine allostatic load (NAL) score for each biomarker which had a “high-risk” value (i.e., a value below the 25th or above the 75th percentiles).
c
High wealth is coded as three and low wealth is coded as one.
d
“Excellent” is coded as one and “bad” as five.
e
Only includes the widowed respondents.
f
More severe economic deprivation is represented by higher values on this index.
Source: Authors’ tabulations based on the 2004-2006 CRELES (Rosero-Bixby, 2007.