Table 1.
Characteristics of older adults in the EPIC-Norfolk study by levels of socioeconomic status or financial hardship.a
| Women (%) | Mean (SD) Age | Mean (SD) BMI (kg/m2) | Physical inactivity (%) | Not married (%) | Poor/ moderate health (%) | Ever smoker (%) | Mean (SD) Kcal/d | Mean (SD) FV variety (items/mo) | Mean (SD) FV quantity (g/d) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social class (n = 8535) | ||||||||||
| Professional (n = 634) | 50 | 62 (7) | 25.8 (3.4) | 60 | 13 | 10 | 45 | 1936 (528) | 25 (5) | 554 (251) |
| Managerial and technical (n = 3354) | 53 | 62 (7) | 26.0 (3.5) | 60 | 18 | 14 | 50 | 1959 (541) | 25 (5) | 555 (254) |
| Skilled non-manual (n = 1509) | 65 | 63 (7) | 26.0 (3.6) | 66 | 30 | 17 | 49 | 1919 (549) | 23 (6) | 540 (251) |
| Skilled manual (n = 1734) | 53 | 61 (7) | 26.5 (3.7) | 52 | 14 | 19 | 56 | 1967 (564) | 23 (6) | 534 (258) |
| Partly skilled (n = 1064) | 54 | 62 (7) | 26.7 (4.0) | 53 | 21 | 21 | 55 | 1970 (595) | 22 (6) | 532 (293) |
| Unskilled (240) | 65 | 62 (7) | 27.2 (4.5) | 51 | 40 | 23 | 49 | 1959 (608) | 21 (6) | 519 (276) |
| Education (n = 8678) | ||||||||||
| Degree (n = 1183) | 48 | 63 (7) | 25.8 (3.5) | 57 | 20 | 10 | 44 | 1939 (552) | 25 (5) | 552 (250) |
| A-level (n = 3600) | 49 | 61 (7) | 26.1 (3.6) | 56 | 19 | 15 | 53 | 1967 (552) | 24 (5) | 544 (255) |
| O-level (n = 876) | 61 | 62 (7) | 26.0 (3.7) | 64 | 17 | 15 | 49 | 1937 (524) | 24 (6) | 537 (242) |
| No qualification (n = 3019) | 63 | 61 (7) | 26.6 (3.8) | 60 | 23 | 20 | 78 | 1949 (574) | 22 (5) | 542 (275) |
| Home-ownership (n = 8538) | ||||||||||
| Owner–occupier (=7878) | 55 | 62 (7) | 26.1 (3.6) | 58 | 18 | 15 | 51 | 1958 (555) | 24 (5) | 545 (255) |
| Renter, private (n = 217) | 56 | 64 (8) | 26.4 (3.5) | 54 | 39 | 18 | 54 | 1939 (561) | 22 (6) | 527 (276) |
| Renter, public (n = 443) | 62 | 64 (7) | 27.2 (4.3) | 66 | 45 | 31 | 56 | 1909 (590) | 21 (6) | 524 (335) |
| Having enough money for needs (n = 8413) | ||||||||||
| More than enough (n = 1640) | 53 | 61 (7) | 25.7 (3.6) | 59 | 16 | 10 | 46 | 1942 (532) | 24 (5) | 539 (243) |
| Just enough (n = 6011) | 56 | 62 (7) | 26.2 (3.6) | 58 | 20 | 16 | 51 | 1959 (561) | 24 (6) | 547 (262) |
| Less than enough (n = 762) | 53 | 61 (7) | 27.2 (4.4) | 60 | 31 | 28 | 62 | 1931 (564) | 22 (6) | 530 (282) |
| Frequency of not having enough money for food or clothing (n = 8417) | ||||||||||
| Never (n = 5197) | 54 | 62 (7) | 26.0 (3.5) | 58 | 18 | 13 | 49 | 1954 (545) | 24 (6) | 545 (258) |
| Seldom (n = 1869) | 56 | 62 (7) | 26.4 (3.8) | 58 | 21 | 18 | 52 | 1964 (558) | 24 (6) | 549 (253) |
| Sometimes (n = 1005) | 59 | 61 (7) | 26.7(4.0) | 57 | 24 | 21 | 53 | 1975 (590) | 23 (6) | 546 (284) |
| Often/Always (n = 346) | 61 | 61 (7) | 26.7(4.3) | 62 | 36 | 32 | 59 | 1823 (561) | 21 (6) | 502 (257) |
| Difficulty paying bills (n = 8425) | ||||||||||
| None (n = 5151) | 55 | 63 (7) | 26.0 (3.5) | 59 | 17 | 13 | 50 | 1952 (549) | 24 (6) | 547 (257) |
| Very little (n = 1991) | 54 | 62 (7) | 26.3 (3.6) | 56 | 21 | 17 | 52 | 1965 (559) | 24 (5) | 544 (257) |
| Slight (n = 602) | 56 | 61 (7) | 26.6 (3.9) | 56 | 22 | 21 | 55 | 1939 (576) | 24 (6) | 544 (270) |
| Some (n = 571) | 60 | 61 (7) | 27.0 (4.5) | 58 | 33 | 28 | 56 | 1940 (563) | 23 (6) | 524 (275) |
| Great/Very great (n = 110) | 60 | 60 (7) | 27.6 (4.5) | 58 | 35 | 35 | 68 | 1969 (624) | 21 (6) | 531 (307) |
Note: FV, fruit and vegetable.
a
Measurement time-points were: sex, age, education, occupational social class, BMI, physical activity (1993–1997); accommodation and financial hardship measures (1996–2000); self-rated general health, smoking status, marital status and dietary intake (1998–2002).