Table 1. Characteristics of the study sample according to frailty status at the end of follow-up*.
| Characteristics at age 50 | Total study sample | Nonfrail | Frail | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (N = 6,357) | (N = 5,912) | (N = 445) | ||
| Sex | <0.001 | |||
| Men | 4,501 (70.8) | 4,261 (72.1) | 240 (53.9) | |
| Women | 1,856 (29.2) | 1,651 (27.9) | 205 (46.1) | |
| Ethnicity | <0.001 | |||
| White | 5,830 (91.7) | 5,464 (92.4) | 366 (82.3) | |
| Nonwhite | 527 (8.3) | 448 (7.6) | 79 (17.7) | |
| Marital status | <0.001 | |||
| Married/cohabiting | 4,942 (77.7) | 4,658 (78.8) | 284 (63.8) | |
| Single, divorced, or widowed | 1,415 (22.3) | 1,254 (21.2) | 161 (36.2) | |
| Education | <0.001 | |||
| No academic qualification | 663 (10.4) | 590 (9.9) | 73 (16.4) | |
| High school | 2,062 (32.4) | 1,903 (32.2) | 159 (35.7) | |
| Higher secondary | 1,737 (27.3) | 1,638 (27.7) | 99 (22.2) | |
| University | 1,411 (22.2) | 1,319 (22.3) | 92 (20.7) | |
| Higher university degree | 484 (7.6) | 462 (7.8) | 22 (4.9) | |
| Occupational position | <0.001 | |||
| Low | 845 (13.3) | 717 (12.1) | 128 (28.8) | |
| Intermediate | 2,824 (44.4) | 2,624 (44.4) | 200 (44.9) | |
| High | 2,688 (42.3) | 2,571 (43.5) | 117 (26.3) | |
| Number of morbidities | <0.001 | |||
| 0 | 4,370 (68.7) | 4,113 (69.6) | 257 (57.7) | |
| 1 | 1,549 (24.4) | 1,408 (23.8) | 141 (31.7) | |
| 2 or more | 438 (6.9) | 391 (6.6) | 47 (10.6) | |
| Smoking status | <0.001 | |||
| Never smoked | 3,202 (50.4) | 2,967 (50.2) | 235 (52.8) | |
| Ex-smoking | 2,378 (37.4) | 2,251 (38.1) | 127 (28.5) | |
| Current smoking | 777 (12.2) | 694 (11.7) | 83 (18.6) | |
| Alcohol consumption | <0.001 | |||
| None | 989 (15.6) | 873 (14.8) | 116 (26.1) | |
| Moderate | 3,543 (56.2) | 3,318 (56.1) | 225 (50.6) | |
| High | 1,825 (28.7) | 1,721 (29.1) | 104 (23.4) | |
| Physical activity | <0.001 | |||
| Inactive | 703 (11.1) | 599 (10.1) | 104 (23.4) | |
| Moderately active | 1,500 (23.6) | 1,358 (23.0) | 142 (31.9) | |
| Active | 4,154 (65.3) | 3,955 (66.9) | 199 (44.7) | |
| Fruits and vegetables consumption | <0.001 | |||
| Less than once a day | 2,186 (34.4) | 2,007 (33.9) | 179 (40.2) | |
| Once a day | 2,445 (38.5) | 2,262 (38.3) | 183 (41.1) | |
| At least twice a day | 1,726 (27.2) | 1,643 (27.8) | 83 (18.6) | |
| Frailty components at the end of follow-up† | ||||
| Slow walking speed | 503 (7.9) | 230 (3.9) | 273 (61.3) | <0.001 |
| Low grip strength | 1,399 (22.0) | 1,075 (18.2) | 324 (72.8) | <0.001 |
| Exhaustion | 794 (12.5) | 511 (8.6) | 283 (63.6) | <0.001 |
| Low physical activity | 2,210 (34.8) | 1,799 (30.4) | 411 (92.4) | <0.001 |
| Weight loss | 302 (4.7) | 181 (3.1) | 121 (27.2) | <0.001 |
*Values are numbers (percentages). Percentages are reported in column.
†End of follow-up corresponds to date of frailty diagnosis or last wave of clinical examination for nonfrail participants.