Table 1.

Sociodemographic characteristics, loneliness, self-rated health and leisure activities of respondents at baseline, 2005 (%).

Characteristics		All (n = 15,613)
Gender	Male	42.8
	Female	57.2
Age Group	65–74	21.2
	75–84	19.1
	85+	59.6
Ethnicity	Han	93.8
	Others	6.2
Residence	City	24.8
	Town	19.8
	Rural	55.4
Marital status	Currently married and living with spouse	30.5
	Separated	1.9
	Divorced	0.4
	Widowed	66.3
	Never Married	0.9
Living arrangement	With household member(s)	83.8
	Alone	13.4
	In an institution	2.7
Education	No formal schooling	61.2
	At least 1 year of schooling	38.8
Lonely and isolated	Always	2.2
	Often	5.8
	Sometimes	24.0
	Seldom	30.5
	Never	37.5
Self-rated Health	Very good	11.0
	Good	38.7
	So	33.9
	Bad	14.8
	Very bad	1.6
Play cards/mahjong	Almost everyday	5.8
	Not daily, but once for a week	5.0
	Not weekly, but at least once for a month	2.4
	Not monthly, but sometimes	3.8
	Never	83.0
Watch TV or listen to radio	Almost everyday	43.7
	Not daily, but once for a week	11.5
	Not weekly, but at least once for a month	5.0
	Not monthly, but sometimes	6.6
	Never	33.2
Participated in social activities	Almost everyday	2.9
	Not daily, but once for a week	2.3
	Not weekly, but at least once for a month	2.6
	Not monthly, but sometimes	6.7
	Never	85.6