Table 1.
Characteristics significantly differed by famine status among the CHARLS participants in the 2011 baseline survey
| Overall (n=13,005) |
None (n=2,313) |
Moderate famine (n=9,123) |
Severe Famine (n=1,569) |
P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depression, % | 28.3 | 22.7 | 28.5 | 37.8 | <0.001 |
| Male, % | 48.0 | 43.1 | 49.9 | 47.0 | <0.001 |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 61.5 (8.5) | 62.1 (9.4) | 61.5 (8.1) | 62.8 (8.0) | <0.001 |
| Living in rural areas, % | |||||
| During childhood | 91.2 | ||||
| Currently | 80.6 | 74.3 | 81.0 | 86.0 | <0.001 |
| Currently married, % | 87.8 | 85.9 | 88.4 | 85.7 | <0.001 |
| Education, % | <0.001 | ||||
| Illiterate | 27.9 | 27.2 | 27.2 | 37.1 | |
| <elementary school | 18.4 | 17.5 | 18.2 | 22.8 | |
| Elementary school | 21.9 | 19.5 | 23.0 | 19.2 | |
| Middle school | 20.5 | 21.8 | 20.6 | 14.0 | |
| High school or above | 11.4 | 14.0 | 11.2 | 6.8 | |
| Self-reported family income, % | <0.001 | ||||
| Average and above | 55.6 | 59.8 | 55.3 | 52.4 | |
| Relatively poor | 31.7 | 28.5 | 32.0 | 34.3 | |
| Poor | 12.7 | 11.7 | 12.7 | 13.3 | |
| Individual income sources, % | <0.001 | ||||
| Wage and bonus | 16.8 | 18.0 | 16.4 | 11.5 | |
| Others | 20.5 | 23.2 | 21.0 | 22.1 | |
| None | 62.7 | 58.8 | 62.6 | 66.4 | |
| Currently employed, % | 70.7 | 65.6 | 70.8 | 73.3 | <0.001 |
| Drinking status, % | <0.001 | ||||
| Never | 73.4 | 77.2 | 72.3 | 72.2 | |
| Former | 6.3 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 8.0 | |
| Occasional drinker | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | |
| Regular drinker | 16.0 | 13.9 | 17.2 | 15.2 | |
| Smoking status, % | <0.001 | ||||
| Never | 61.9 | 66.3 | 60.0 | 62.0 | |
| Former | 8.3 | 7.3 | 8.7 | 8.4 | |
| Current smoker | 29.8 | 26.4 | 31.3 | 29.6 | |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean (SD) | 23.3 (4.0) | 23.3 (3.9) | 23.4 (4.0) | 23.2 (4.1) | 0.006 |
| DBP, mmHg, mean (SD) | 75.8 (12.1) | 75.4 (12.1) | 76.0 (12.1) | 74.8 (12.1) | 0.003 |
| Self-reported chronic conditions, % | |||||
| Lung disease | 10.2 | 10.2 | 10.1 | 13.4 | <0.001 |
| Kidney disease | 6.4 | 4.9 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 0.003 |
| Digestive disease | 22.8 | 19.6 | 22.8 | 28.2 | <0.001 |
| Arthritis | 34.0 | 29.2 | 34.2 | 43.7 | <0.001 |
Note. Severe Famine = ‘One or more member of the family died from starvation between 1959 and 1961’. Depressive symptoms = CESD10 >= 12. BMI=body mass index in kg/m2. DBP=diastolic blood pressure in mmHg. SBP=systolic blood pressure in mmHg. SD=standard deviation.