Table 1.
Participant characteristics at baseline.
| Time-invariant characteristics (stated at baseline) a | Proportion (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | % female | 55.0% |
| Age | % 50–55 | 5.3% |
| % 56–60 | 15.2% | |
| % 61–65 | 20.3% | |
| % 66–70 | 17.4% | |
| % 71–75 | 15.3% | |
| % 76+ | 26.4% | |
| Ethnicity | White, % | 97.7% |
| Educational Attainmentb | No qualifications / basic qualifications | 44.2% |
| GCSE / O-level / qualification at age 16 | 16.7% | |
| A-levels / higher education / qualification at age 18 | 27.1% | |
| Degree / further higher qualification | 12.1% | |
| Time-varying characteristics (state at baseline) | ||
| Marital Status | Married/cohabiting, % | 66.4% |
| Employment | Working full- or part-time, % | 30.9% |
| Wealth | Measured in quintiles | – |
| Alcohol Consumption | Less than once a week | 48.9% |
| Once or twice a week | 20.9% | |
| 3 or 4 times a week | 10.6% | |
| 5 or more times a week | 19.7% | |
| Smoking Status | Smoker, % | 11.3% |
| Sedentary Behaviour | Exercises less than weekly, % | 8.7% |
| Chronic Health Conditions | One or more of cancer, COPD, arthritis, stroke, diabetes, angina, % | 35.1% |
| Chronic pain | Experiencing moderate or severe chronic pain, % | 22.3% |
| Depression | Score of 3+ in CES-D, % | 17.1% |
| BMI | Mean score | 27.6 (SE 0.04) |
| Social connections | ||
| Social engagement | Mean score (range 3–12; higher indicates more socially engaged) | 7.9 (SE 0.02) |
| Living with somebody | % | 78.0% |
| Loneliness | Mean score (range 3–9; lower indicates more lonely) | 7.7 (SE 0.01) |
a
Excluded from the analysis as time-invariant factors are automatically included within fixed-effects models, but shown here for descriptive purposes.