Table 2.
Main characteristics of the GEHA Italian 90+ siblings at the interview (*n.s. = p > 0.05)
| Recruitment centre | Bologna | Rome | Calabria | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90+ Siblings | n = 539 | n = 216 | n = 405 | n = 1,160 | |||||
| Characteristic | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % | p value |
| Socio-demographic information | |||||||||
| Gender | |||||||||
| Male | 162 | 30.1 | 58 | 26.9 | 149 | 36.8 | 369 | 31.8 | 0.02 |
| Female | 377 | 69.9 | 158 | 73.1 | 256 | 63.2 | 791 | 68.2 | |
| Age at interview: years: mean (SD) | 93.3 | (2.9) | 92.9 | (2.6) | 92.9 | (2.8) | 93.1 | (2.8) | n.s.* |
| Present marital status | |||||||||
| Never married | 68 | 12.6 | 26 | 12 | 27 | 6.7 | 121 | 10.4 | 0.012 |
| Married | 64 | 11.9 | 28 | 13 | 74 | 18.3 | 166 | 14.3 | |
| Divorced, separated | 2 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.5 | 6 | 0.5 | |
| Widow/widower | 405 | 75.1 | 160 | 74.1 | 302 | 74.6 | 867 | 74.7 | |
| Education: number of years: mean (SD) | 4.9 | (3.0) | 8.2 | (5.1) | 2.6 | (3.0) | 5.2 | (3.7) | <0.001 |
| Main occupation | |||||||||
| White collars | 106 | 19.7 | 106 | 49.1 | 35 | 8.6 | 247 | 21.3 | <0.001 |
| Blue collars | 380 | 70.5 | 49 | 22.7 | 300 | 74.1 | 729 | 62.8 | |
| Housekeepers | 53 | 9.8 | 61 | 28.2 | 70 | 17.3 | 184 | 15.9 | |
| Living condition | |||||||||
| Own house | 495 | 91.8 | 205 | 91.9 | 391 | 96.5 | 1,091 | 91.1 | 0.009 |
| Instituzionalised | 44 | 8.2 | 11 | 5.1 | 14 | 3.5 | 69 | 5.9 | |
| Activities of daily living (ADL) and NAGI-scheme for sensory and physical functioning | |||||||||
| Five items ADL scale categories (without incontinence) | |||||||||
| Severely disabled (ADL = 0–1–2) | 169 | 31.4 | 55 | 25.5 | 185 | 45.7 | 409 | 35.3 | <0.001 |
| Moderately disabled (ADL = 3–4) | 106 | 19.7 | 38 | 17.6 | 22 | 5.4 | 166 | 14.3 | |
| Not disabled (ADL = 5) | 264 | 49.0 | 123 | 56.9 | 198 | 48.9 | 585 | 50.4 | |
| Sensory functioning | |||||||||
| Reading newspaper without glasses | 179 | 33.2 | 73 | 33.8 | 101 | 24.9 | 353 | 30.4 | 0.021 |
| Recognise someone 4 m away without glasses | 394 | 73.6 | 138 | 65.7 | 191 | 48.3 | 723 | 63.4 | <0.001 |
| Hearing ability without aids | 369 | 68.5 | 147 | 68.1 | 233 | 57.5 | 749 | 64.6 | <0.001 |
| Physical functioning | |||||||||
| 500 m walking ability without aids | 187 | 34.7 | 94 | 43.5 | 151 | 37.3 | 432 | 37.2 | n.s.* |
| Going up and down the stairs without anyone’s help | 346 | 64.2 | 133 | 61.6 | 198 | 48.9 | 677 | 58.4 | <0.001 |
| Doing any kind of exercise | 328 | 60.9 | 107 | 49.5 | 152 | 37.5 | 587 | 50.6 | <0.001 |
| Going outside with or without anyone’s help | 354 | 65.8 | 127 | 59.6 | 170 | 42 | 651 | 56.3 | <0.001 |
| Cognitive capabilities | |||||||||
| Standardised Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE) categories | |||||||||
| Severe impairment: score 0–17 | 129 | 23.9 | 31 | 14.4 | 229 | 56.5 | 389 | 33.5 | <0.001 |
| Mild impairment: score 18–23 | 150 | 27.8 | 43 | 19.9 | 117 | 28.9 | 310 | 26.7 | |
| Unimpairment: score 24–30 | 209 | 38.8 | 129 | 59.7 | 36 | 8.9 | 374 | 32.2 | |
| Not available | 51 | 9.5 | 13 | 6.0 | 23 | 5.7 | 87 | 7.5 | |
| Lifestyle | |||||||||
| Smoking | |||||||||
| Never smokers | 419 | 77.7 | 146 | 67.6 | 297 | 73.3 | 862 | 74.3 | 0.011 |
| Former smokers | 111 | 20.6 | 60 | 27.8 | 90 | 22.2 | 261 | 22.5 | |
| Smokers | 9 | 1.7 | 10 | 4.6 | 18 | 4.4 | 37 | 3.2 | |
| Alcohol intake | |||||||||
| Drinking beer, wine or alcohol every day | 311 | 57.8 | 110 | 50.9 | 220 | 54.5 | 641 | 55.4 | n.s.* |
| Health and morbidity | |||||||||
| Number of present diseases | |||||||||
| 0 | 19 | 3.5 | 14 | 6.5 | 13 | 3.2 | 46 | 4.0 | <0.001 |
| 1–2 | 155 | 28.8 | 102 | 47.2 | 124 | 30.6 | 381 | 32.8 | |
| >2 | 365 | 67.7 | 100 | 46.3 | 268 | 66.2 | 733 | 63.2 | |
| Self-reported health | |||||||||
| Excellent | 67 | 12.4 | 21 | 9.7 | 12 | 3.0 | 100 | 8.6 | <0.001 |
| Good | 237 | 44.0 | 112 | 51.9 | 108 | 26.7 | 457 | 39.4 | |
| Acceptable | 112 | 20.8 | 54 | 25.0 | 162 | 40.0 | 328 | 28.3 | |
| Poor/very poor | 74 | 13.7 | 16 | 7.4 | 100 | 24.6 | 190 | 16.4 | |
| Not available | 49 | 9.1 | 13 | 6.0 | 23 | 5.7 | 85 | 7.3 | |
| Use of any prescribed medicine | 490 | 90.9 | 196 | 90.7 | 364 | 90.1 | 1,050 | 90.6 | n.s.* |
| No hospitalisation within the last year | 411 | 76.3 | 173 | 80.1 | 337 | 83.2 | 921 | 79.4 | 0.031 |
| No loss of weight within the last year | 426 | 79.0 | 183 | 84.7 | 294 | 72.6 | 903 | 77.8 | 0.002 |
| Psycological well-being | |||||||||
| Attitude towards life | |||||||||
| Optimistic | 272 | 50.5 | 103 | 47.7 | 129 | 31.8 | 504 | 43.4 | <0.001 |
| Neither optimistic nor pessimistic | 143 | 26.5 | 84 | 38.9 | 175 | 43.2 | 402 | 34.7 | |
| Pessimistic | 75 | 13.9 | 16 | 7.4 | 78 | 19.3 | 169 | 14.6 | |
| Not available | 49 | 9.1 | 13 | 6.0 | 23 | 5.7 | 85 | 7.3 | |
| Anthropometric measures and physical testa | |||||||||
| Body mass index (BMI, Kg/m2) | |||||||||
| Males (n = 343): mean (SD) | 26.1 | (4.1) | 25.0 | (3.5) | 24.7 | (3.8) | 25.3 | (3.9) | 0.005 |
| Females (n = 671): mean (SD) | 25.6 | (4.5) | 23.3 | (4.0) | 23.7 | (4.2) | 24.4 | (4.4) | <0.001 |
| Hand grip (Kg) | |||||||||
| Males: mean (SD) | 24.0 | (7.1) | 22.8 | (7.1) | 19.5 | (7.7) | 22.0 | (7.6) | <0.001 |
| Females: mean (SD) | 14.4 | (5.7) | 14.4 | (5.6) | 11.6 | (4.6) | 13.5 | (5.5) | <0.001 |
aThese variables, highly influenced by gender, were analysed separately in males and females