Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics of Covariates by Education, U.S. Adults Aged 25 and Over, 1988-1994

		Education Category
	All	≥ 16 yrs	13-15 yrsa	12 yrsa	0-11 yrsa
Education
≤ 11 years	24.47
12 years	34.14
13-15 years	19.37
≥ 16 years	22.02
Demographic Factors
Male	47.36	54.47	46.57**	42.94***	47.80**
Female	52.64	45.53	53.43**	57.06***	52.20**
Age
25 to 39	39.04	42.46	47.64*	41.10	26.27***
40 to 54	28.04	35.24	29.68**	27.57***	20.92***
55 to 69	19.76	14.73	14.17	21.71***	26.02***
70 to 85	11.57	6.93	7.41	8.74	22.96***
85+	1.59	0.64	1.10	0.88†	3.83***
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic white	83.99	92.77	86.29***	84.95***	72.93***
Non-Hispanic black	11.45	5.92	10.84***	12.14***	15.96***
Mexican American	4.56	1.31	2.87***	2.91***	11.11***
Foreign-born	6.38	6.59	5.14†	4.13*	10.29*
US-born	93.62	93.41	94.86†	95.87*	89.71*
Economic Resource
Income-to-poverty ratio (mean)	3.70	5.07	4.07***	3.47***	2.48***
Social Resources
Marital status
Married	69.12	73.06	68.66	71.39	62.76***
Divorced/separated	11.51	8.64	14.06**	11.76*	11.74*
Never married	10.74	15.10	11.80†	9.22***	8.08***
Widowed	8.63	3.20	5.48**	7.63***	17.42***
Visit with friends, relatives < 1 visit per week	4.41	2.22	2.45	4.07**	8.46***
Visit with friends, relatives > 1 visit per week	95.59	97.78	97.55	95.93**	91.54***
Religious attendance
No attendance	38.42	30.81	34.69	40.46***	45.37***
< once a week	25.60	30.92	27.98	25.23**	20.89***
Once a week	26.74	28.81	27.75	25.65	25.61
> once a week	9.24	9.46	9.58	8.66	8.13
Club involvement	40.51	60.13	48.25***	35.67***	23.46***
No club involvement	59.49	39.87	51.75***	64.33***	76.54
Health Lifestyle
Smoking status
Former	27.82	29.31	38.88	25.74†	28.53
Current	28.20	15.14	24.50***	33.93***	34.88***
Never	43.98	55.55	36.62***	40.33***	36.59***
Drinking status
Never	9.89	6.91	5.94	9.89*	15.69***
Former	29.83	20.80	27.48**	32.58***	36.00***
1-4 drinks	38.62	55.68	46.55	36.11***	20.47***
5 or more drinks	8.06	3.94	7.84**	8.42***	11.43**
Missing	13.60	12.67	12.19***	13.00	16.41***
Hours of exercise per week
None	32.98	18.45	24.19**	34.28***	50.71***
≤ 7 hours	33.14	33.27	33.44	34.47	30.94
> 7 hours	33.88	48.28	42.37**	31.25***	18.35***
Physiological Indicators
Obesity
BMI
< 18.5	2.15	2.78	1.95	1.47+	2.71
≥18.5 and <30	74.60	81.51	76.08**	73.10***	69.28***
≥ 30 and < 35	14.86	11.50	14.01+	15.35**	17.89***
≥ 35	8.39	4.21	7.96***	10.08***	10.12***
Inflammation
Albumin
≤ 3.5 g/dL	2.20	1.93	1.51	2.41	2.71
> 3.5 - ≤ 4.0 g/dL	23.24	19.54	22.09	24.08**	26.33**
> 4.0 - ≤ 4.5 g/dL	43.81	45.68	46.24	44.32	39.49 **
> 4.5 g/dL	11.47	15.12	8.29†	10.25***	8.84***
Missing because of infection	4.52	3.14	13.00	4.55†	5.81***
Missing	14.76	14.59	8.87	14.39	16.82
C-Reactive Protein
< 0.3mg/dL	46.05	54.59	48.39***	44.21***	39.07***
≥ 0.3 mg/dL	16.10	11.43	15.15**	17.62***	18.93***
Missing because of infection	23.36	19.63	23.10*	24.07**	25.95***
Missing	14.49	14.35	13.36	14.10	16.05*
Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Hypertension
Normotensive (< 120 SBP and < 80 DB)	61.43	68.69	67.44	61.72	49.73*
Prehypertensive (120-139 SBP or 80-89 DBP)	9.88	10.95	8.87	9.98**	9.59***
Hypertensive stage 1 (140-159 SBP or 90-99 [	9.27	6.91	8.22	9.72***	11.58***
Hypertensive stage 2 (≥ 160 SBP or ≥ 100 DB	17.89	11.78	14.47*	16.97	27.37***
Missing	1.53	1.67	1.00	1.61	1.73
Total cholesterol
< 150	5.75	6.62	5.85	5.81	4.78*
150-249	67.26	68.72	69.15	67.30	64.38**
250-349	12.70	10.36	12.17	12.91*	14.95***
≥ 350	0.33	0.14	0.19	0.32	0.64**
Missing	13.96	14.16	12.64	13.66	15.25
Glycosylated hemoglobin
< 6.4 percent	81.23	83.63	83.35*	82.31***	75.85***
≥ 6.4 percent	5.54	2.50	4.20*	5.16**	9.90***
Missing	13.23	13.87	12.45	12.53	14.25
N	15,691	2,075	2,349	4,643	6,624
Died over follow-up period	4,985	406	521	1,157	2,901

Source: Derived from NHANES III Linked Adult Interview, Examination, and Laboratory Files.

^aAdjusted Wald tests show whether the education category is statistically different from ≥ 16 years of education.

^†p ≤ .10

^*p ≤ .05

^**p ≤ .01

^***p ≤ .001