Table 1. Characteristics of respondents by study site.
| Total | Kingston, ON | St. Hyacinthe, QC | Manizales | Natal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | n = 1161 | n = 287 | n = 294 | n = 334 | n = 246 |
| Men | 547 (47.1%) | 127 (44.3%) | 136 (46.3%) | 161 (48.2%) | 123 (50%) |
| Women | 614 (52.9%) | 160 (55.7%) | 158 (53.7%) | 173 (51.8%) | 123 (50%) |
| Age 2012 | n = 1161 | n = 287 | n = 294 | n = 334 | n = 246 |
| 65–69 | 674 (58.1%) | 171 (59.6%) | 188 (63.9%) | 178 (53.3%) | 137 (55.7%) |
| 70–74 | 487 (41.9%) | 116 (40.4%) | 106 (36.1%) | 156 (46.7%) | 109 (44.3%) |
| Depression 2012 | n = 1161 | n = 287 | n = 294 | n = 334 | n = 246 |
| Not depressed | 983 (84.7%) | 261 (90.9%) | 263 (89.5%) | 262 (78.4%) | 197 (80.1%) |
| Depressed | 178 (15.3%) | 26 (9.1%) | 31 (10.5%) | 72 (21.6%) | 49 (19.9%) |
| Chronic health conditions 2012 | n = 1147 | n = 285 | n = 283 | n = 333 | n = 246 |
| 0 | 203 (17.7%) | 43 (15.1%) | 49 (17.3%) | 79 (23.7%) | 32 (13.0%) |
| 1 | 341 (29.7%) | 79 (27.7%) | 85 (30.0%) | 106 (31.8%) | 71 (28.9%) |
| 2 | 321 (28.0%) | 91 (31.9%) | 75 (26.5%) | 82 (24.6%) | 73 (29.7%) |
| 3 | 178 (15.5%) | 45 (15.8%) | 42 (14.8%) | 47 (14.1%) | 44 (17.9%) |
| 4 | 75 (6.5%) | 22 (7.7%) | 19 (6.7%) | 11 (3.3%) | 23 (9.3%) |
| 5 | 23 (2.0%) | 5 (1.8%) | 10 (3.5%) | 5 (1.5%) | 3 (1.2%) |
| 6 | 5 (0.4%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (1.1%) | 2 (0.6%) | 0 (0%) |
| 7 | 1 (0.1%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.3%) | 0 (0%) |
| Income sufficiency 2012 | n = 1153 | n = 287 | n = 294 | n = 326 | n = 175 |
| Insufficient (1) | 423 (36.7%) | 8 (2.8%) | 18 (6.1%) | 222 (66.5%) | 175 (71.1%) |
| Sufficient (2) | 382 (33.1%) | 92 (32.1%) | 145 (49.3%) | 85 (25.4%) | 60 (24.4%) |
| Very sufficient (3) | 348 (30.2%) | 187 (65.2%) | 131 (44.6%) | 19 (5.7%) | 11 (4.5%) |
| Self-Rated Health 2012 | n = 1159 | n = 286 | n = 294 | n = 334 | n = 245 |
| Very poor (1) | 9 (0.8%) | 1 (0.3%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (0.9%) | 5 (2.0%) |
| Poor (2) | 44 (3.8%) | 1 (0.3%) | 4 (1.4%) | 11 (3.3%) | 28 (11.4%) |
| Fair (3) | 350 (30.2%) | 31 (10.8%) | 39 (13.3%) | 141 (42.2%) | 139 (56.5%) |
| Good (4) | 472 (40.7%) | 122 (42.7%) | 154 (52.4%) | 132 (39.5%) | 64 (26.0%) |
| Very good (5) | 284 (24.5%) | 131 (45.8%) | 97 (33.0%) | 47 (14.1%) | 9 (3.7%) |
| Smoking 2012 | n = 1160 | n = 287 | n = 294 | n = 333 | n = 246 |
| Current non-smoker | 1053 (90.8%) | 274 (95.5%) | 272 (92.5%) | 289 (86.8%) | 218 (88.6%) |
| Current smoker | 107 (9.2%) | 13 (4.5%) | 22 (7.5%) | 44 (13.2%) | 28 (11.4%) |
Across all sites, as respondents aged they reported fewer depressive symptoms with mean CES-D scores decreasing from 8.15 (95% CI 7.70–8.60) in 2012 to 7.15 (95% CI 6.75–7.56) in 2016 (p < 0.001). There were significant sex/gender differences identified. Women had higher CES-D scores at every stage (Table 2); however, both men and women experienced significant decreases in depression over time (ps < 0.001). Women also reported more CHC and had weaker grip strength, although men and women both underwent significant and similar worsening in CHC and grip strength (ps < 0.001). Nevertheless, women's SRH increased with aging (2012 = 3.81, 2016 = 3.90, p = 0.004), whereas men's did not (p > 0.05).