Table 1.

Sample characteristics stratified by sex (wave 5, n = 7838)

	Men (n = 3842)		Women (n = 3996)
	N/Mean (Range)	%/(SD)	N/Mean (Range)	%/(SD)
Age in years	65.5 (40–93)	(11.2)	63.2 (40–95)	(10.9)
Marital status: married and living together with spouse’	2939	76.7%	2537	63.6%
Monthly net equivalent income in Euro	2018.6 (122–33,333)	(1497.0)	1870,7 (80–30,000)	(1256.1)
Region: West Germany	2598	67.6%	2668	66.7%
Body-Mass-Index (BMI)	27.4 (13.2–60.9)	(4.1)	26.4 (15.6–60.6)	(5.0)
Smoking status: Daily	539	14.1%	537	13.6%
- Yes, sometimes	176	4.6%	133	3.4%
- Not anymore	1745	45.7%	1134	28.8%
- Never been smoker	1362	35.6%	2138	54.2%
Consumption of alcohol: Daily	692	18.3%	233	5.9%
- several times a week	1184	31.2%	698	17.8%
- once a week	603	15.9%	641	16.3%
- one to three times a month	378	10.0%	560	14.2%
- less frequently	592	15.6%	1270	32.3%
- never	342	9.0%	532	13.5%
Physical activity: Daily	308	8.0%	355	8.9%
- several times a week	976	25.4%	1160	29.0%
- once a week	611	15.9%	816	20.4%
- one to three times a month	332	8.6%	260	6.5%
- less frequently	510	13.3%	408	10.2%
- never	1104	28.8%	997	25.0%
Number of physical illnesses	2.7 (0–11)	(1.9)	2.5 (0–10)	(1.9)
Self-rated health (from 1 = “very good” to 5 = “very bad”)	2.5 (1–5)	(0.8)	2.5 (1–5)	(0.8)
Health comparisons: Much better	532	14.1%	602	15.4%
Somewhat better	1648	43.7%	1469	37.5%
The same	1078	28.6%	1277	32.6%
Somewhat worse	397	10.5%	418	10.6%
Much worse	119	3.1%	154	3.9%
Self-efficacy (from 1 to 4; higher values reflect higher self-efficacy)	3.1 (1.2–4)	0.4	3.1 (1–4)	0.4
Social exclusion (from 1 to 4; higher values reflect higher social exclusion)	1.6 (1–4)	0.6	1.6 (1–4)	0.6

According to Schwarzer and Jerusalem [24, 25], self-efficacy was measured. Social exclusion was quantified using a scale constructed by Bude and Lantermann [23]