Skip to main content
. 2019 Nov 19;75(5):914–921. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glz264

Table 1.

Wave 1 Sample Characteristics (UKHLS Participants With Complete Data)

White British South Asian African Caribbean
Men (n = 15,613) Women (n = 20,203) Men (n = 2,223) Women (n = 2,227) Men (n = 1,034) Women (n = 1,478)
Age (years) 48.7 (18.4) 48.2 (18.3) 37.6 (15.2)* 36.1 (13.8)* 41.2 (16.5)* 40.1 (14.7)*
Age range (%)
 18–34 24.9 26.0 48.8 53.2 37.8 39.3
 35–49 26.8 28.0 30.1 29.9 36.7 37.4
 50–59 16.7 16.5 11.2 9.5 11.0 12.6
 60+ 31.6 29.5 9.8* 7.4* 14.5* 10.7*
Education (%)
 Below GCSE/no education 15.8 9.6 17.9 23.1 14.2 14.9
 Up to GCSE or equivalent 42.7 41.3 27.3 30.9 32.6 32.0
 Up to A-level or equivalent 13.6 10.1 13.1 14.7 14.9 13.0
 Degree and higher 27.9 29.1 41.7* 31.4* 38.3* 40.1*
Marital status (%)
 Married/cohabiting 54.0 48.1 63.0* 65.0* 41.3* 31.1*
 Single 31.5 27.8 32.9 22.5 46.6 47.6
 Separated 1.9 2.9 1.8 4.4 3.6 7.3
 Divorced 8.3 11.5 1.4 3.9 6.0 9.0
 Widowed 4.3 9.8 0.9 4.2 2.5 5.1
Country of birth (%)
 Born in the United Kingdom 97.5 97.7 28.4* 35.7* 27.1* 29.8*
Employment (%)
 Currently employed 58.1 52.1 62.4* 35.4* 49.8* 50.3
Functional limitations (%) 25.6 33.2 22.7* 34.0 17.8* 29.5*
SF12 PCS 49.4 (11.3) 48.9 (12.1) 51.0 (10.2)* 48.8 (11.3) 52.2 (9.8)* 49.8 (11.2)*
Functional disability (%) 19.8 22.6 13.1* 16.1* 11.1* 14.9*
Long-term limiting illness (%) 38.6 39.7 21.7* 24.2* 20.9* 25.2*
Cardiovascular disease (%) 9.6 5.8 5.4* 3.0* 2.9* 2.5*
Diabetes (%) 7.0 4.8 10.1* 9.4* 6.4 6.5*
Age of diabetes diagnosis 52.6 (17.2) 51.2 (18.3) 45.8 (13.5)* 40.6 (15.0)* 47.9 (14.6)* 46.1 (14.5)*
Hypertension (%) 20.8 19.7 11.1* 11.1* 13.4* 19.0
Body mass index (kg/m2) 25.5 (7.7) 23.1 (10.9) 22.9 (9.3)* 20.7 (11.9)* 22.7 (11.2)* 21.3 (14.6)*

Note: Data presented as mean (SD) or percentages as appropriate.

PCS = Physical Component Score; UKHLS = UK Household Longitudinal Study.

*Ethnic group comparisons with White British as reference category, p < .05.