Table 2.
Characteristics of respondents (2007/2008, N = 491; 2008/2009, N = 250)1.
| Characteristic | Dropouts (n = 241) 2007/2008 n (%) |
(n = 250) 2007/2008 n (%) |
(n = 250) 2008/2009 n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics |
|||
| Age, mean ± SD | 80.6 ± 4.4 | 79.4 ± 3.6 | 80.4 ± 3.6 |
| Sex, % of women | 133 (55.2) | 134 (53.6) | 134 (53.6) |
| Marital status | |||
| Married or cohabiting | 129 (53.5) | 137 (54.8) | 130 (52.0) |
| Not married | 18 (7.5) | 19 (7.6) | 19 (7.6) |
| Divorced | 7 (2.9) | 7 (2.8) | 7 (2.8) |
| Widowed | 87 (36.1) | 87 (34.8) | 94 (37.6) |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Dutch | 228 (94.6) | 243 (98.0) | 242 (98.0) |
| Other | 13 (5.4) | 5 (2.0) | 5 (2.0) |
| Education | |||
| None or primary | 124 (54.4) | 115 (47.1) | 115 (46.6) |
| Secondary | 71 (31.1) | 80 (32.8) | 85 (34.4) |
| Higher | 33 (14.5) | 49 (20.1) | 47 (19.0) |
| Missing values (N) | 13 | 6 | 3 |
| Monthly income* | |||
| €600 or less | 2 (1.0) | 1 (0.4) | 3 (1.4) |
| €601–€900 | 9 (4.6) | 10 (4.4) | 10 (4.5) |
| €901–€1200 | 51 (26.2) | 45 (19.8) | 46 (20.9) |
| €1201–€1500 | 44 (22.6) | 59 (26.0) | 50 (22.7) |
| €1501–€1800 | 35 (17.9) | 32 (14.1) | 33 (15.0) |
| €1801–€2100 | 24 (12.3) | 25 (11.0) | 28 (12.7) |
| €2101 or more | 30 (15.4) | 55 (24.2) | 50 (22.7) |
| Missing values (N) | 46 | 23 | 30 |
| Self-perceived lifestyle | |||
| Very healthy | 27 (11.2) | 35 (14.1) | 47 (19.0) |
| Healthy | 186 (77.2) | 195 (78.3) | 184 (74.5) |
| Not healthy, not unhealthy | 19 (7.9) | 13 (5.2) | 10 (4.0) |
| Unhealthy | 9 (3.7) | 6 (2.4) | 5 (2.0) |
| Very unhealthy | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.4) |
| Chronic diseases, mean ± SD | 1.4 ± 1.2 | 1.3 ± 1.1 | 1.4 ± 1.1 |
| COPD | 38 (15.8) | 37 (14.8) | 40 (16.0) |
| Cardiac disease | 39 (16.2) | 50 (20.0) | 53 (21.2) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 48 (19.9) | 44 (17.6) | 51 (20.4) |
| Cerebrovascular accidents | 15 (6.2) | 13 (5.2) | 13 (5.2) |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 40 (16.6) | 33 (13.2) | 34 (13.6) |
| Cancer | 22 (9.1) | 18 (7.2) | 22 (8.8) |
| RA or osteoarthritis | 138 (57.3) | 138 (55.2) | 149 (59.6) |
| Physical indicators of frailty | |||
| Body Mass Index, kg/m2, mean ± SD | 26.0 ± 3.9 | 26.5 ± 4.1 | 26.5 ± 4.0 |
| Gait speed, sec, mean ± SD | 15.1 ± 9.1 | 13.7 ± 6.6 | 13.7 ± 8.7 |
| Physical activity, min/day, mean ± SD | 100.5 ± 78.7 | 116.0 ± 84.0 | 133.0 ± 95.0 |
| Hand grip strength, PKa, mean ± SD | 69.3 ± 21.4 | 73.1 ± 19.4 | 66.6 ± 20.8 |
| Fatigue, mean ± SD | 6.6 ± 2.7 | 6.4 ± 2.6 | 6.3 ± 2.6 |
| Poor balance | 125 (53.9) | 107 (44.6) | 106 (42.4) |
| Disability | 28.7 ± 9.2 | 26.2 ± 8.8 | 27.9 ± 9.9 |
| ADL disability | 15.3 ± 4.7 | 14.4 ± 4.7 | 15.3 ± 5.2 |
| IADL disability | 13.4 ± 5.4 | 11.8 ± 4.9 | 12.5 ± 5.5 |
| MMSE, mean ± SD | 27.0 ± 3.6 | 28.0 ± 2.1 | 27.8 ± 2.3 |
| <24 (range 0–30) | 29 (12.2) | 10 (4.0) | 10 (4.1) |
Sec: seconds; PKa: Kilopascal; SD: standard deviation; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; RA: rheumatoid arthritis; MMSE: Mini Mental State Examination.
*46 cases were missing (dropouts 2007/2008); 23 cases were missing (2007/2008); 30 cases were missing (2008/2009).
1There were occasional missing values on many variables. Only for education and income was the number of missing values larger than ten (>4%) on at least one occasion. Only for these variables we included a count of the number of missing values in the table.