Table 1. Sociodemographic profiles of the respondents, NHMS 1996, NHMS 2006 and NHMS 2011.
| NHMS 1996 | NHMS 2006 | NHMS 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 7370 (51.5) | 7217 (51) | 3278 (51.2) |
| Female | 6929 (48.5) | 6939 (49) | 3130 (48.8) |
| Age group (years) | |||
| 5–6 | 4189 (28.8) | 2737 (19.3) | 1069 (16.7) |
| 7–9 | 2945 (20.2) | 3980 (28.1) | 1835 (28.6) |
| 10–12 | 6435 (44.2) | 4036 (28.5) | 1800 (28.1) |
| 13–15 | 980 (6.8) | 3403 (24) | 1704 (26.6) |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Malay | 7725 (53.8) | 8691 (61.4) | 4077 (63.6) |
| Chinese | 2601 (18.2) | 2069 (14.6) | 939 (14.7) |
| Indian | 831 (5.8) | 1006 (7.15) | 431 (6.7) |
| Other Bumiputra | 2692 (18.7) | 1962 (13.9) | 739 (11.5) |
| Other | 509 (3.5) | 428 (3.0) | 222 (3.5) |
| Locality | |||
| Urban | 7783 (51.1) | 7702 (54.4) | 3588 (56) |
| Rural | 7440 (48.9) | 6454 (45.6) | 2820 (44) |
| Caregiver's highest education level | |||
| No formal education | 83 (1.4) | 493 (3.5) | 168 (4.5) |
| Primary education | 2452 (16.1) | 2001 (14.1) | 737 (19.9) |
| Secondary education | 2512 (16.5) | 3822 (27) | 1880 (50.8) |
| Tertiary education | 706 (12.3) | 3403 (24.0) | 836 (22.6) |
| Caregiver's marital status | |||
| Not married | 89 (1.3) | 167 (1.3) | 67 (1.1) |
| Married | 6032 (91.5) | 11927 (92.3) | 5348 (91.2) |
| Divorcee/widow/widower | 470 (7.1) | 823 (6.4) | 450 (7.7) |
| Household income by quartile a | |||
| Quartile 1 | 1459 (25.1) | 3438 (24.3) | 1602 (25) |
| Quartile 2 | 1490 (25.6) | 3423 (24.2) | 1609 (25.1) |
| Quartile 3 | 1552 (26.7) | 3423 (24.2) | 1599 (25) |
| Quartile 4 | 1308 (22.5) | 3425 (24.2) | 1598 (24.9) |
a
Quartile: quartile 1 represents the lowest quarter; quartile 4, the highest.