Table 1.
Demographic, Behavioral, and Health Characteristics of Participants (Healthy Retirees vs. Unhealthy Retirees), Health and Retirement Study, 1992–2010
| Healthy retirees (n = 1,934) | Unhealthy retirees (n = 1,022) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD or Count (%) | P valuea | ||
| Male | 967 (50.0%) | 457 (44.7%) | ** |
| White (vs. non-white) | 1628 (84.2%) | 775 (75.8%) | *** |
| Age | 55.5 ± 3.0 | 55.1 ± 3.1 | *** |
| Education | *** | ||
| < High school | 307 (15.9%) | 285 (27.9%) | |
| High school | 1092 (56.4%) | 562 (55.0%) | |
| > High school | 535 (27.7%) | 175 (17.1%) | |
| Married (vs. others) | 1487 (76.9%) | 666 (65.2%) | *** |
| Non-housing wealth | *** | ||
| Min – 1st quartile | 405 (20.9%) | 351 (34.3%) | |
| 1st quartile – median | 472 (24.4%) | 262 (25.6%) | |
| Median – 3rd quartile | 498 (25.8%) | 251 (24.6%) | |
| 3rd quartile – max | 559 (28.9%) | 158 (15.5%) | |
| Occupation | *** | ||
| White-collar | 680 (35.2%) | 231 (22.6%) | |
| Service | 756 (39.1%) | 446 (43.6%) | |
| Blue-collar | 498 (25.8%) | 345 (33.8%) | |
| Smoking | *** | ||
| Never-smoker | 754 (39.0%) | 337 (33.0%) | |
| Former | 756 (39.1%) | 373 (36.5%) | |
| Current | 424 (21.9%) | 312 (30.5%) | |
| Alcohol use (yes) | 1307 (67.6%) | 622 (60.9%) | *** |
| Frequent exercise | 1041 (53.8%) | 498 (48.7%) | ** |
| Body mass index | *** | ||
| Underweight/normal | 728 (37.6%) | 282 (27.6%) | |
| Overweight | 843 (43.6%) | 422 (41.3%) | |
| Obese | 363 (18.8%) | 318 (31.1%) | |
| Self-rated health | 3.9 ± 0.9 | 3.3 ± 1.1 | *** |
| Limitation in ≥1 ADL | 42 (2.2%) | 81 (7.9%) | *** |
| Chronic conditions | 0.9 ± 0.9 | 1.5 ± 1.2 | *** |
| Death | 234 (12.1%) | 262 (25.6%) | *** |
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; ADL, activities in daily living
*
p < 0.05.
**
p < 0.01.
***
p < 0.001
a
Two-sample t-test for continuous variables and χ2 test for categorical variables.