Table 2.
Population Characteristics and Proportion of Sensory Disabled Canadian Older Adults Aged 55 Years and Older, 1991 Health and Activities Limitation Survey (n = 5,271,900)*
| Variables | Overall Sample (%) | Sensory Disabled (%) | |
| Age | 55–64 Years | 44.9 | 10.5§ |
| 65+ Years | 55.1 | 23.0 | |
| Gender | Female | 54.4 | 18.3‡ |
| Male | 45.6 | 16.6 | |
| Marital Status | Single | 7.7 | 19.2§ |
| Married | 65.1 | 15.6 | |
| Div/Sep/Wid | 27.1 | 21.3 | |
| Total Household Income | Income less than 10,000 | 19.6 | 19.5§ |
| $10,000–$24,999 | 50.0 | 20.0 | |
| $25,000–$34,999 | 30.4 | 11.1 | |
| $35,000 and over | 17.0 | 11.5 | |
| Tenure of Dwelling | Owned | 75.1 | 16.4§ |
| Rented | 22.3 | 20.4 | |
| Type of Dwelling | Single | 64.2 | 17.9† |
| Other | 35.8 | 16.6 | |
| Number of Persons in Household | 1 person | 19.6 | 22.6§ |
| 2 persons | 50.0 | 16.8 | |
| 3 persons | 30.4 | 15.0 | |
| Degree of Urbanization | Urban | 80.2 | 16.6§ |
| Rural | 19.8 | 20.8 | |
| Regions of Canada | Atlantic | 8.3 | 20.8§ |
| Quebec | 25.3 | 12.9 | |
| Ontario | 37.9 | 17.6 | |
| Prairies | 15.5 | 21.5 | |
| British Columbia | 12.8 | 18.8 | |
| Yukon and NWT | 0.1 | 20.0 | |
| Sensory Disability Classification | SD-HA | 4.1 | - |
| HD-SA | 10.5 | - | |
| SD-HD | 3.0 | - | |
| SD and/or HD (Total) | 17.6 | - |
* n = Weighted sample size of respondents Chi-square analyses were conducted separately for each response category to compare individuals with and without sensory disabilities † p ≤ 0.05, ‡ p < 0.01, § p < 0.001