Table 1. Characteristics of participants, by survey year.
| Number of participants | |||||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| n = 1316 | n = 667 | n = 753 | n = 541 | n = 814 | |
| Age | |||||
| ≤64 years | 715 (54.3%) | 329 (49.3%) | 344 (45.7%) | 228 (42.1%) | 401 (49.3%) |
| ≥65 years | 601 (45.7%) | 338 (50.7%) | 409 (54.3%) | 313 (57.9%) | 413 (50.7%) |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 652 (49.5%) | 326 (48.9%) | 351 (46.6%) | 252 (46.6%) | 388 (47.7%) |
| Female | 664 (50.5%) | 341 (51.1%) | 402 (53.4%) | 289 (53.4%) | 426 (52.3%) |
| Job status | |||||
| Unemployed | 409 (31.9%) | 226 (35.0%) | 228 (31.6%) | 151 (29.2%) | 202 (25.7%) |
| Other | 873 (68.1%) | 419 (65.0%) | 493 (68.4%) | 367 (70.9%) | 583 (74.3%) |
| Data missing | 34 | 22 | 32 | 23 | 29 |
| Contact with neighbors | |||||
| Often | 484 (37.4%) | 239 (36.7%) | 254 (35.5%) | 200 (38.3%) | 277 (35.2%) |
| Sometimes | 546 (42.1%) | 304 (46.7%) | 336 (46.9%) | 233 (44.6%) | 347 (44.0%) |
| Not often | 185 (14.3%) | 80 (12.3%) | 98 (13.7%) | 61 (11.7%) | 113 (14.3%) |
| Rarely | 81 (6.3%) | 28 (4.3%) | 28 (3.9%) | 28 (5.4%) | 51 (6.5%) |
| Data missing | 20 | 16 | 37 | 19 | 26 |
| GHQ-12 score | |||||
| ≤3 (normal) | 645 (49.0%) | 384 (57.6%) | 475 (63.1%) | 378 (69.9%) | 539 (66.2%) |
| ≥4 (psychological distress) | 671 (51.0%) | 283 (42.4%) | 278 (36.9%) | 163 (30.1%) | 275 (33.8%) |
Abbreviation: GHQ-12, 12-item General Health Questionnaire.