Table 1.
Descriptive Characteristics of Older Husbands and Wives (Age 50+)
| Husbands | Wives | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |
| Age | 66.2 | 8.6 | 62.3 | 8.1 |
| Cognitive scores | ||||
| Verbal learning | 13.8 | 3.7 | 15.0 | 3.5 |
| Verbal recall | 4.1 | 2.0 | 4.8 | 1.9 |
| Visual scanning | 29.1 | 15.2 | 29.6 | 15.0 |
| Verbal fluency | 15.4 | 5.1 | 15.1 | 5.0 |
| Orientation | 2.5 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 |
| Visuospatial | 5.6 | 0.9 | 5.5 | 1.1 |
| Visual memory | 4.9 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
| General cognitive ability (g) | -0.1 | 0.9 | -0.1 | 0.9 |
| Locality size | ||||
| 100,000+ (n, %) | 2,276 | 57.1 | 2,276 | 57.1 |
| 15,000–99,999 (n, %) | 463 | 11.6 | 463 | 11.6 |
| 2,500–14,999 (n, %) | 435 | 10.9 | 435 | 10.9 |
| <2,500 (n, %) | 813 | 20.4 | 813 | 20.4 |
| Total (n, %) | 3,987 | 100.0 | 3,987 | 100.0 |
| Employment history | ||||
| Retired (n, %) | 1,805 | 44.9 | 1,685 | 42.0 |
| Still working (n, %) | 2,116 | 52.7 | 754 | 18.8 |
| Never worked for pay (n, %) | 95 | 2.4 | 1,575 | 39.2 |
| Total (n, %) | 4,016 | 100.0 | 4,014 | 100.0 |
| Education | ||||
| No education (n, %) | 612 | 15.3 | 656 | 16.4 |
| Incomplete elementary (n, %) | 1,192 | 29.8 | 1,233 | 30.8 |
| Elementary (n, %) | 898 | 22.4 | 952 | 23.8 |
| Beyond elementary (n, %) | 1,299 | 32.5 | 1,160 | 29.0 |
| Total (n, %) | 4,001 | 100.0 | 4,001 | 100.0 |
| Economic variables | ||||
| Income decile | 5.2 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
| Couple-level wealth decile | 5.0 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 2.7 |
| Chronic condition count | ||||
| 0 (n, %) | 1,687 | 42.2 | 1,261 | 31.5 |
| 1 (n, %) | 1,385 | 34.6 | 1,549 | 38.7 |
| 2+ (n, %) | 927 | 23.2 | 1,195 | 29.8 |
| Total (n, %) | 3,999 | 100.0 | 4,005 | 100.0 |
| Functional limitation | ||||
| Activity of daily living (ADL) limitation (n, %) | 541 | 14.3 | 678 | 17.3 |
| Instrumental ADL limitation (n, %) | 281 | 7.5 | 395 | 10.1 |
| Binge drinking | ||||
| Yes, in previous 3 months (n, %) | 607 | 15.2 | 89 | 2.2 |
| Smoking | ||||
| Never smoker (n, %) | 1,633 | 40.7 | 3,318 | 82.6 |
| Former smoker (n, %) | 1,668 | 41.6 | 449 | 11.2 |
| Current smoker (n, %) | 712 | 17.7 | 250 | 6.2 |
| Total (n, %) | 4,013 | 100.0 | 4,017 | 100.0 |
| Exercise | ||||
| Exercise/hard physical work 3+ times weekly | 1,767 | 47.2 | 1,312 | 33.7 |
| Depressive symptoms | ||||
| Depressive symptoms | 2.6 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 |
| Social support from spouse | ||||
| Perceived spousal social support | 6.9 | 1.5 | 6.0 | 2.1 |
Note. Source: Authors’ own calculation using husband-wife dyads from the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study (n = 4,017). Sample sizes for descriptive statistics may differ due to missing data.