Table 1.
Baseline (1994) characteristics of participants by gender (n = 1000).
| Characteristic | Total sample | Men | Women | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC | ||||
| Gender (%) | 47 | 53 | ||
| Age (mean) | 73.4 | 72.6 | 74.1 | <0.001 |
| MARITAL STATUS (%) | ||||
| Never married | 5 | 4 | 5 | <0.001 |
| Divorced/separated | 5 | 4 | 6 | |
| Married/living together | 58 | 80 | 39 | |
| Widowed | 32 | 12 | 50 | |
| Education (mean)a | 1.32 | 1.51 | 1.15 | <0.001 |
| Income score (mean)b | 4.93 | 5.42 | 4.50 | <0.001 |
| Living alone (%) | 34 | 15 | 50 | <0.001 |
| Living children (%) | 12 | 10 | 14 | 0.082 |
| COUNTRY OF BIRTH (%) | ||||
| Australian | 74 | 71 | 77 | |
| English | 10 | 9 | 11 | |
| European | 12 | 15 | 9 | |
| Other | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| HEALTH | ||||
| Tally of medical conditions (mean) | 3.84 | 3.64 | 4.02 | 0.016 |
| Self-rated health (mean)c | 1.55 | 1.49 | 1.60 | 0.128 |
| IADL dependent (%)d | 18 | 10 | 24 | <0.001 |
| Depressed (%)e | 7 | 5 | 9 | 0.028 |
| Falls last year (%)f | 10 | 6 | 12 | 0.002 |
| Pain (mean)g | 2.55 | 2.37 | 2.71 | 0.001 |
| Urinary incontinence (mean)h | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.29 | <0.001 |
| Cognitive impairment score (mean)i | 0.87 | 0.81 | 0.91 | 0.110 |
| LIFESTYLE | ||||
| Strain (mean)j | 4.46 | 4.50 | 4.42 | 0.112 |
| Restful sleep (mean)k | 3.65 | 3.72 | 3.58 | 0.002 |
| Total physical activity (mean)l | 8.64 | 8.25 | 8.99 | 0.007 |
| Nutrition score (mean)m | 14.02 | 14.25 | 13.82 | 0.048 |
| Perceived social activity adequacy (mean)n | 1.82 | 1.84 | 1.80 | 0.140 |
| Perceived social support (mean)o | 9.66 | 9.68 | 9.65 | 0.592 |
| Social activity (mean)p | 2.82 | 2.71 | 2.92 | 0.047 |
| BMI (%)q | ||||
| Under-weight | 6 | 3 | 8 | <0.001 |
| Normal | 27 | 27 | 28 | |
| Over-weight | 50 | 54 | 47 | |
| Obese | 17 | 17 | 17 | |
| SMOKING STATUS (%) | ||||
| Ex-smoker | 44 | 25 | 61 | <0.001 |
| Current smoker | 46 | 67 | 29 | |
| Never smoked | 9 | 9 | 10 | |
Values are percentages (numbers) or means.
a Education score: composite score (0–3) using school leaving age, post school qualifications and highest qualifications; higher score denotes higher education level.
b Income score: pre-tax weekly income (1–11 income categories ranging from 0 to $AUS926 or more).
c Self-rated health scores: excellent (0), very good (1), good (2), fair (3) poor (4).
d IADL scores: independent denotes able to shop, garden/do minor home maintenance, prepare meals and do housework on one’s own; dependent denotes needs help in at least one of shopping, gardening, preparing meals or housework.
e Depression score: cut-off score for depression was a score of 5 or more on the PAS Depression scale (0–12), where 0 denotes no depressive symptoms and 12 denotes maximum number of depressive symptoms.
f Falls requiring hospitalization.
g Pain: daily pain (5), once or twice/week (4), once or twice/month (3), a few times a year (2), never (1).
h Urinary incontinence score: measures urge incontinence, where 0 is continent and 1 is incontinent.
i Cognitive impairment score: derived from the Organic Brain Syndrome Scale (0–9), where 9 is more impaired.
j Strain score: how often do you feel that you are under so much strain that your health is likely to suffer? Never (5), rarely (4), sometimes (3), frequently (2), very frequently (1). A high score indicates low strain.
k Restful sleep score: how often do you feel really rested when you wake up in the morning? Most of the time (4), sometimes (3), rarely (2), never (1).
l Total physical activity score in last 2 weeks: type and frequency of activities scored 0–25, where 25 denotes more active.
m Nutrition score: based in Australian Nutrition Screening Initiative, scores ranged from 0 to 19, where 19 denotes better nutrition.
n Perceived social activity adequacy score: 1 is not enough or too much, 2 is about right.
o Perceived social support score: 5 questions scored not true (0), partly true (1), certainly true (2), scores ranged from 0 to10.
p Social activity score in last 2 weeks: nine activities scored as yes/no, scores ranged from 0 to 9.
q BMI score: under-weight (<20), normal (20–25), over-weight (26–29), obese (30 and over).