Table 1.
Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the study sample
| Variable | Frequency (%) N = 275 |
|---|---|
| Age (year) | |
| < 48 | 28(10.2) |
| 48–57 | 77(28.0) |
| 58–67 | 114(41.5) |
| 68–77 | 43(15.6) |
| ≥ 78 | 13(4.7) |
| Gender | |
| Female | 121(44.0) |
| Male | 154(56.0) |
| Residency | |
| City | 108 (39.3) |
| Village | 135(49.1) |
| Palestinian refugee camps | 32(11.6) |
| Social status | |
| Married | 198(72.0) |
| Single, widowed, divorced | 77(28.0) |
| Educational level | |
| No Formal | 66(24.0) |
| Primary | 106(38.5) |
| Secondary | 60(21.8) |
| University | 43(15.6) |
| Occupation | |
| Employed | 129(46.9) |
| Unemployed | 146(53.1) |
| Income (NIS) | |
| Moderate to High | 116(42.2) |
| Low | 159(57.8) |
| BMI | |
| Normal | 49(17.8) |
| Overweight | 129(46.9) |
| Obese | 97(35.3) |
| Cigarette | |
| Not smoker | 144(52.4) |
| Light | 7(2.5) |
| Moderate | 36 (13.1) |
| Heavy | 13 (4.7) |
| Ex-smoker | 75 (27.3) |
| Duration of the disease (year) | |
| ≤ 3 | 139 (50.5) |
| 4–5 | 71 (25.8) |
| > 5 | 65 (23.6) |
| Total number of medications | |
| 1–3 | 81(29.5) |
| 4–6 | 161(58.5) |
| ≥ 7 | 33(12.0) |
| Total number of chronic diseases | |
| 0 | 13 (4.7) |
| 1 | 38 (13.8) |
| 2 | 84 (30.5) |
| 3 | 73 (26.5) |
| ≥ 4 | 67 (24.4) |
EQ-5D European Quality of Life scale 5 dimensions, EQ-VAS European Quality of Life visual analogue scale, NIS New Israeli Shekel, BMI body mass index