Table 1.
Demographic and medical characteristics of participants (n = 521)
| Sex, % (n) | |
| Women | 64.1 (334) |
| Men | 35.9 (187) |
| Age group, % (n) | |
| 18–34 years | 9.0 (47) |
| 35–49 years | 15.7 (82) |
| 50–64 years | 39.5 (206) |
| ≥ 65 years | 35.7 (186) |
| Residence area, % (n) | |
| Urban | 49.1 (256) |
| Rural | 50.9 (265) |
| Marital status, % (n) | |
| Married/cohabiting | 70.2 (366) |
| Single | 11.5 (60) |
| Widowed | 8.6 (45) |
| Separated/divorced | 9.6 (50) |
| Living arrangements, % (n) | |
| Couple | 54.3 (283) |
| Extended Family | 31.3 (163) |
| Alone | 11.9 (62) |
| Other (including care home) | 2.5 (13) |
| Education, % (n) | |
| Low level (less than 6 years) | 57.2 (298) |
| Medium level (at least 6 but not more than 9 years) | 19.4 (101) |
| High level (more than 9 years) | 23.4 (122) |
| Professional status, % (n) | |
| Pensioner/retired | 43.0 (224) |
| Employed (full-time/part time) | 34.2 (178) |
| Unemployed | 11.3 (59) |
| Housewife | 10.4 (54) |
| Student | 1.2 (6) |
| Monthly income, % (n) | |
| “Not enough to make ends meet” | 38.2 (199) |
| “Just enough to make ends meet” | 46.3 (241) |
| “Some money left over” | 15.5 (81) |
| Multimorbidity group, % (n) | |
| Low (2–3 chronic problems) | 42.2 (220) |
| Medium (4–5 chronic problems) | 27.6 (144) |
| High (≥6 chronic problems) | 30.1 (157) |
| Chronic health problemsa, % (n) | |
| Hypertension | 61.8 (322) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 29.0 (151) |
| Asthma | 17.3 (90) |
| Osteoarthritis | 57.6 (300) |
| Other prevalent chronic health problemsa, % (n) | |
| Lipid disorder | 63.1 (329) |
| Depressive disorder | 19.6 (102) |
| Obesity | 14.2 (74) |
| Overweight | 10.9 (57) |
| Varicose veins of leg | 9.8 (51) |
| Benign prostatic hypertrophy | 8.1 (42) |
| Osteoporosis | 7.9 (41) |
| Goitre | 7.7 (40) |
| Liver disease | 7.1 (37) |
| Anxiety disorder/anxiety state | 5.4 (28) |
aThe same participant may have more than one condition