. 2017 Mar 10;72(11):1525–1531. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glx031

Table 1.

Descriptive and Health Characteristics of the NHANES and CHARLS Populations for Middle-Aged (50–64.9 years) and Older (≥65 years) Adults

	NHANES: U.S. Population-Representative Sample (n = 5,267)				CHARLS: Chinese Population-Representative Sample (n = 6,566)
	Men		Women		Men		Women
	Age 50–64.9	Age ≥ 65	Age 50–64.9	Age ≥ 65	Age 50–64.9	Age ≥ 65	Age 50–64.9	Age ≥ 65
	n = 1,374	n = 1,174	n = 1,462	n = 1,257	n = 2,009	n = 1,169	n = 2,288	n = 1,100
Age, years	56.8 (0.17)	72.7 (0.22)^a,b	56.7 (0.17)	73.4 (0.17)^a,b	57.3 (0.11)^c	71.8 (0.25)^a	57.2 (0.12)	72.3 (0.32)^a
Body Mass Index (BMI), kg/m²	29.3 (0.25)^b	28.2 (0.26)^b	30.4 (0.34)^a,b,c	29.2 (0.25)^b,c	23.6 (0.09)^a	23.1 (0.23)	24.8 (0.23)^a,c	24.1 (0.22)^c
Obesity (BMI >30 or 28), %	35.7^b,c	30.8^b	48.7^b,c	40.0^b	13.1	10.5	17.3^c	13.2^c
Waist circumference, cm	105.0 (0.58)^b,c	105.9 (0.74)^b,c	99.9 (0.73)^b	98.4 (0.69)^b	86.4 (0.27)	86.7 (0.61)	86.9 (0.24)^c	88.6 (0.44)^a,c
Abdominal obesity, %	47.3^b	53.0^b,c	75.7^b	76.9^b	5.6	5.7	45.7^c	49.8^c
^d,ePhysical disability, %	25.7^b	31.6^b	48.6^a,b,c	64.6^a,b,c	10.9	20.3^a	13.8^c	25.7^a,c
Grip strength, kg	45.4 (0.43)	38.4 (0.41)^a	28.8 (0.18)^c	23.6 (0.21)^a,c	41.1 (0.22)^b	34.0 (0.48)^a,b	27.5 (0.21)^b,c	22.6 (0.31)^a,c
Normalized grip strength	0.51 (0.01)^b	0.46 (0.01)^a,b	0.38 (0.01)^b,c	0.34 (0.01)^a,b,c	0.65 (0.00)	0.57 (0.01)^a	0.48 (0.00)^c	0.42 (0.01)^a,c
Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), %	5.90 (0.04)^b	6.03 (0.03)^a,b	5.83 (0.03)^b	5.94 (0.03)^a,b	5.27 (0.02)	5.25 (0.03)	5.34 (0.02)^c	5.39 (0.04)^c
^fDiabetes, %	18.6^b	23.5^b,c	16.1	17.6	16.7	15.7	19.5^b,c	20.5^b,c
Glucose, mg/dL	114.8 (1.60)^b,c	116.6 (2.44)^b	107.8 (2.06)	112.0 (1.53)^a	111.0 (1.11)	108.7 (0.98)	110.5 (0.83)^b	112.7 (1.59)^a,c
Insulin, μU/mL	13.5 (1.09)	13.9 (0.78)	12.7 (0.56)	12.4 (0.40)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Triglycerides, mg/dL	131.1 (4.69)	121.9 (4.55)^b	124.3 (1.40)	125.3 (4.12)	134.7 (3.41)^a	112.3 (3.55)	139.7 (2.696)^b,c	145.2 (4.44)^b,c
HDL-cholesterol, mg/dL	48.4 (0.58)^c	49.8 (0.78)^c	60.3 (0.84)	59.6 (0.63)	49.5 (0.44)^a	50.1 (1.05)	50.1 (0.43)^b	49.2 (1.26)^b
LDL-cholesterol, md/dL	114.9 (1.84)^a	99.9 (1.85)	124.3 (0.63)^a,c	114.1 (1.43)^c	113.9 (1.04)	110.5 (1.55)^b	123.1 (1.17)^c	122.2 (2.30)^b,c
Systolic blood pressure, mmHg	127.4 (0.83)^c	132.1 (0.81)^a	124.4 (0.63)	135.8 (0.95)^a,c	129.7 (0.57)	136.2 (0.90)^a	129.7 (1.17)	139.6 (1.62)^a,c
Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg	75.8 (0.36)^a,c	69.6 (0.41)	73.1 (0.43)^a	69.1 (0.45)	77.6 (0.35)^a,c	73.8 (0.50)^b	76.0 (0.53)^a,b	74.4 (0.64)^b

Notes: BMI = body mass index; CHARLS = China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study; HDL = high density lipoprotein; HOMA-Homeostasis Model of Assessment; LDL = low density lipoprotein; NHANES = National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys; WC = waist circumference.

^aSignificant difference between ages 50–64.9 years and ≥65 years within the same sex, and in the same country: Denoted as group with higher risk.

^bSignificant difference between United States and China, within the equivalent age category and the same sex: denoted as group with higher risk.

^cSignificant difference between men and women in the equivalent age category, and in the same country: denoted as group with higher risk.

^dNHANES (United States): ≥1 Self-Reported Limitations from Physical Function Questionnaire (PFQ).

^eCHARLS (China): Self-Reported Difficulty with any Activity of Daily Living (ADL).

^fSelf-reported diabetes or HbA1c ≥ 6.5%.