Table 1.
Participant characteristics by multimorbidity status (2 or more conditions)
| Characteristics | All participants (N = 491,939) | Multimorbidity status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With multimorbidity (n = 96,622) | Without multimorbidity (n = 395,317) | P value | ||
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 267,883 (54.5) | 51,801 (53.6) | 216,082 (54.7) | |
| Male | 224,056 (45.5) | 44,821 (46.4) | 179,235 (45.3) | < 0.001 |
| Age, years (median [IQR]) | 58 [50–63] | 61 [54–65] | 57 [49–63] | < 0.001 |
| Age categories | ||||
| ≤ 50 | 129,832 (26.4) | 14,787 (15.3) | 115,045 (29.1) | |
| 51–60 | 173,712 (35.3) | 31,659 (32.8) | 142,053 (35.9) | |
| > 60 | 188,395 (38.3) | 50,176 (51.9) | 138,219 (35.0) | < 0.001 |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 463,804 (94.3) | 91,013 (94.2) | 372,791 (94.3) | |
| Non-white | 26,401 (5.4) | 5222 (5.4) | 21,179 (5.4) | |
| Missing | 1734 (0.4) | 387 (0.4) | 1347 (0.3) | 0.016 |
| Socioeconomic status | ||||
| 1st quintile (least deprived) | 99,178 (20.2) | 17,163 (17.8) | 82,015 (20.7) | |
| 2nd quintile | 98,418 (20.0) | 17,753 (18.4) | 80,665 (20.4) | |
| 3rd quintile | 98,401 (20.0) | 18,392 (19.0) | 80,009 (20.2) | |
| 4th quintile | 98,325 (20.0) | 19,647 (20.3) | 78,678 (19.9) | |
| 5th quintile (most deprived) | 97,001 (19.7) | 23,543 (24.4) | 73,458 (18.6) | |
| Missing | 616 (0.1) | 124 (0.1) | 492 (0.1) | < 0.001 |
| Education level | ||||
| College or university degree | 160,218 (32.6) | 25,630 (26.5) | 134,588 (34.0) | |
| A/AS level or equivalent | 54,924 (11.2) | 9791 (10.1) | 45,133 (11.4) | |
| O levels/GCSEs or equivalent | 130,813 (26.6) | 24,154 (25.0) | 106,659 (27.0) | |
| Other (e.g. NVQ, nursing, missing) | 145,984 (29.7) | 37,047 (38.3) | 108,937 (27.6) | < 0.001 |
| Employment status | ||||
| Working | 283,151 (57.6) | 39,205 (40.6) | 243,946 (61.7) | |
| Retired | 163,238 (33.2) | 43,889 (45.4) | 119,349 (30.2) | |
| Unemployed | 8112 (1.6) | 1635 (1.7) | 6477 (1.6) | |
| Other (student, volunteer/missing) | 37,438 (7.6) | 11,893 (12.3) | 25,545 (6.5) | < 0.001 |
| BMI categories, kg/m2 | ||||
| Underweight (< 18.5) | 2515 (0.5) | 431 (0.4) | 2084 (0.5) | |
| Normal weight (18.5–24.9) | 159,596 (32.4) | 21,591 (22.3) | 138,008 (34.9) | |
| Overweight (25.0–29.9) | 208,375 (42.4) | 38,546 (39.9) | 169,829 (43.0) | |
| Obese (≥ 30.0) | 119,081 (24.2) | 35,450 (36.7) | 83,631 (21.2) | |
| Missing | 2372 (0.5) | 604 (0.6) | 1768 (0.4) | < 0.001 |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Never | 269,050 (54.7) | 46,543 (48.2) | 222,507 (56.3) | |
| Former | 169,693 (34.5) | 39,068 (40.4) | 130,625 (33.0) | |
| Current | 51,342 (10.4) | 10,524 (10.9) | 40,818 (10.3) | |
| Missing | 1854 (0.4) | 487 (0.5) | 1367 (0.3) | < 0.001 |
| Alcohol consumption | ||||
| Never or < 14 units/week | 308,029 (62.6) | 64,377 (66.6) | 243,652 (61.6) | |
| Excess ≥ 14 units/week | 183,249 (37.3) | 32,088 (33.2) | 151,161 (38.2) | |
| Missing | 661 (0.1) | 157 (0.2) | 504 (0.1) | < 0.001 |
| Meet fruit/vegetable guidelines | ||||
| No | 304,709 (61.9) | 58,682 (60.7) | 246,027 (62.2) | |
| Yes | 186,628 (37.9) | 37,818 (39.1) | 148,810 (37.6) | |
| Missing | 602 (0.1) | 122 (0.1) | 480 (0.1) | < 0.001 |
| Oily fish (≥ 1/week) | ||||
| No | 218,092 (44.3) | 40,954 (42.4) | 177,138 (44.8) | |
| Yes | 273,627 (55.6) | 55,636 (57.6) | 217,981 (55.1) | |
| Missing | 230 (0.0) | 32 (0.0) | 198 (0.1) | < 0.001 |
| Non-oily fish (≥ 1/week) | ||||
| No | 167,300 (34.0) | 31,915 (33.0) | 135,385 (34.2) | |
| Yes | 324,435 (66.0) | 64,682 (66.9) | 259,753 (65.7) | |
| Missing | 204 (0.0) | 25 (0.0) | 179 (0.0) | < 0.001 |
| Processed meat (≥ 2/week) | ||||
| No | 339,723 (69.1) | 65,198 (67.5) | 274,525 (69.4) | |
| Yes | 152,022 (30.9) | 31,394 (32.5) | 120,628 (30.5) | |
| Missing | 194 (0.0) | 30 (0.0) | 164 (0.0) | < 0.001 |
| Red meat (≥ 2/week) | ||||
| No | 418,282 (85.0) | 81,011 (83.8) | 337,271 (85.3) | |
| Yes | 73,542 (14.9) | 15,598 (16.1) | 57,944 (14.7) | |
| Missing | 115 (0.0) | 13 (0.0) | 102 (0.0) | < 0.001 |
| Sedentary behaviour, hours | ||||
| Low (< 4) | 222,081 (45.1) | 38,314 (39.7) | 183,767 (46.5) | |
| Moderate (4–6) | 166,435 (33.8) | 33,326 (34.5) | 133,109 (33.7) | |
| High (≥ 6) | 102,911 (20.9) | 24,839 (25.7) | 78,072 (19.7) | |
| Missing | 512 (0.1) | 143 (0.1) | 369 (0.1) | < 0.001 |
| LTPA, MET-min/week, (median [IQR]) | 619 [200–1353] | 464 [118–1154] | 656 [228–1406] | < 0.001 |
| LTPA categories, MET-min/week | ||||
| Low (< 600) | 238,971 (48.6) | 53,658 (55.5) | 185,313 (46.9) | |
| Moderate (600 to < 3000) | 215,517 (43.8) | 36,760 (38.1) | 178,757 (45.2) | |
| High (≥ 3000) | 34,086 (6.9) | 5199 (5.4) | 28,887 (7.3) | |
| Missing | 3365 (0.7) | 1005 (1.0) | 2360 (0.6) | < 0.001 |
| TPA MET-min/week, (median [IQR]) | 1655 [737–3360] | 1440 [636–3093] | 1706 [780–3430] | < 0.001 |
| TPA categories, MET-min/week | ||||
| Low (< 600) | 90,698 (18.4) | 20,823 (21.6) | 69,875 (17.7) | |
| Moderate (600 to < 3000) | 232,856 (47.3) | 43,120 (44.6) | 189,736 (48.0) | |
| High (≥ 3000) | 131,085 (26.7) | 22,655 (23.5) | 108,430 (27.4) | |
| Missing | 37,300 (7.6) | 10,024 (10.4) | 27,276 (6.9) | < 0.001 |
| Objective mg, (median [IQR])a | 27.1 [22.4–32.5] | 24.5 [20.1–29.7] | 27.6 [22.9–33.0] | < 0.001 |
| Objective categories, min/day of brisk walkinga | ||||
| Low (4) | 31,919 (33.4) | 7369 (47.2) | 24,550 (30.7) | |
| Moderate (10) | 31,871 (33.3) | 4757 (30.5) | 27,114 (33.9) | |
| High (22) | 21,826 (33.3) | 3481 (22.3) | 28,345 (35.4) | < 0.001 |
Shown are numbers (%) unless stated otherwise. P value indicates the difference between categories (Chi-square test); continuous data (Wilcoxon rank-sum test). A/AS level or equivalent = higher school certificate; O levels/GCSEs = school certificate
NVQ National Vocational Qualification, BMI body mass index, LTPA leisure-time physical activity questionnaire, TPA total physical activity questionnaire, MET metabolic equivalent of task, mg milli-gravitational units
aData taken at the time of objective physical activity measurements