Table 1.
Characteristics of the NCDS and ELSA Samples at Age 50–55
| Outcome variables at age 50 (NCDS) or 50–55 (ELSA) | NCDS | ELSA | p* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | |||
| Fair or poor general health (%) | 18.3 | 18.8 | .702 |
| CASP-12—mean (SD) | 26.1 (5.8) | 25.7 (6.2) | .100 |
| Smokes (%) | 21.8 | 23.6 | .216 |
| Cognition—mean (SD) | 27.1 (4.8) | 26.6 (5.2) | .010 |
| Economic | |||
| Owner occupier | 83.9 | 82.8 | .375 |
| Log gross weekly pay—mean (SD)* | 6.1 (0.8) | 5.9 (0.9) | .000 |
| Log family savings—mean (SD) | 8.3 (3.3) | 8.4 (3.5) | .570 |
| Member of pension scheme (%) | 78.9 | 77.3 | |
| Adult characteristics at age 50 (NCDS) or 50–55 (ELSA) | |||
| Male (%) | 49.2 | 44.4 | .006 |
| NS-SEC | .022 | ||
| Routine or not working (%) | 39.8 | 36.7 | |
| Intermediate (%) | 20.1 | 23.9 | |
| Managerial occupation (%) | 40.1 | 39.5 | |
| Not living in a couple (%) | 20.5 | 23.2 | .055 |
| Highest qualification | .000 | ||
| No qualifications (%) | 10.1 | 15.1 | |
| Some qualifications (%) | 54.6 | 59.5 | |
| Degree qualification (%) | 35.2 | 25.4 | |
| N | 8,033a | 921 | |
aSample size of variables related to employment are limited to X in NCDS and x in ELSA.
*X2 test/t-test p value for categorical/continuous variables comparing respondents in NCDS with ELSA.