Table 1.
Characteristics of Study Participants
| Characteristics | CHS | HRS | p-value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| N = 1,023 | N = 685 | ||
| Age, y, mean (SD) | 75.3 (5.9) | 77.3 (7.4) | <.001 |
| Male, N (%) | 373 (36.5) | 276 (40.3) | .341 |
| Whites (vs others), N (%) | 882 (86.2) | 580 (84.7) | .254 |
| Education | |||
| <High school, N (%) | 272 (26.9) | 219 (32.0) | Ref. |
| =High school, N (%) | 268 (26.3) | 234 (34.1) | .661 |
| >High school, N (%) | 477 (46.8) | 232 (33.9) | <.001 |
| Smoking status | |||
| Never, N (%) | 473 (46.3) | 295 (43.4) | Ref. |
| Former, N (%) | 452 (44.3) | 327 (48.1) | .135 |
| Current, N (%) | 96 (9.4) | 58 (8.5) | .857 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | |||
| Underweight/Normal†, N (%) | 313 (30.8) | 169 (24.7) | Ref. |
| Overweight, N (%) | 443 (43.5) | 253 (36.9) | .661 |
| Obese, N (%) | 262 (25.7) | 263 (38.4) | <.001 |
| Heart disease‡, N (%) | 264 (25.8) | 277 (40.4) | <.001 |
| Hypertension, N (%) | 612 (59.8) | 466 (68.0) | <.001 |
| Diabetes, N (%) | 193 (19.0) | 181 (26.5) | <.001 |
| Cancer§, N (%) | 165 (16.1) | 144 (21.1) | .021 |
| Arthritis, N (%) | 676 (66.7) | 530 (77.4) | <.001 |
| Self-rated health||, N (%) | |||
| Excellent/very good | 300 (29.4) | 160 (23.4) | .007 |
| Cognitive function¶, mean (SD) | 91.2 (6.2) | 8.9 (1.6) | NA |
| Frailty, N (%) | |||
| Nonfrail | 289 (28.3) | 199 (28.2) | Ref. |
| Prefrail | 613 (59.9) | 384 (54.5) | <.001 |
| Frail | 121 (11.8) | 122 (17.3) | <.001 |
| Severe ADL disability#, N (%) | 272 (26.6) | 274 (40.0) | <.001 |
Notes: ADL = activities of daily living; CHS = Cardiovascular Health Study; HRS = Health and Retirement Study; SD = standard deviation.
*P-values were obtained from generalized linear regression with clustered sandwich estimator for comparison between CHS and HRS participants (HRS participants were clustered within households).
†Underweight and normal were collapsed due to small cell size in the underweight category.
‡Coronary heart disease and heart failure were included in the CHS; myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, angina, heart failure, or other heart problems were included in the HRS.
§Nonmelanoma skin cancer was excluded.
||The reference was good/fair/poor.
¶Cognitive function was measured by the modified mini-mental status examination (range: 0–100) in the CHS and by the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (range: 0–10) in the HRS.
#Difficulty in two or more ADLs.