Table 1.
Descriptive Characteristics
| Characteristic | All Participants (n = 27 479) | |
|---|---|---|
| n | % | |
| Demographics | ||
| Age at 2020 survey, mean (SD)* | 83.2 (5.4) | |
| Hispanic/Latina | 886 | 2.8 |
| Race | ||
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 57 | 0.2 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 624 | 2.3 |
| Black/African American | 1 324 | 4.8 |
| White | 24 959 | 90.8 |
| More than one race | 299 | 1.1 |
| Unknown/not reported | 216 | 0.8 |
| Education | ||
| High school diploma or less | 4 185 | 15.2 |
| School after high school | 9 386 | 34.2 |
| College degree or higher | 13 724 | 49.9 |
| Lifestyle | ||
| Walking continuously for 5 minutes or more | ||
| ≤1 time each week | 8 554 | 31.1 |
| 2–3 times each week | 6 368 | 23.2 |
| 4–6 times per week | 6 890 | 25.1 |
| 7 or more times per week | 5 277 | 19.2 |
| Alcoholic drinks per week | ||
| None | 13 758 | 50.1 |
| ≤4 | 8 611 | 31.3 |
| 5–7 | 3 846 | 14.0 |
| >7 | 985 | 3.6 |
| Currently smoke regular or electronic cigarettes | 348 | 1.3 |
| Life events † | ||
| Number of stressful life events (0–11), mean (SD) | 1.0 (1.1) | |
| Death or serious illness of a close friend or family member (other than spouse or partner) | 10 335 | 37.6 |
| Death of a pet | 1 848 | 6.7 |
| Death of spouse or partner | ||
| No | 24 183 | 88.0 |
| Yes | 1 306 | 4.8 |
| Intense longing or yearning for spouse/partner who died | ||
| Did not experience death of spouse/partner | 24 183 | 88.0 |
| Never/rarely | 374 | 1.4 |
| Sometimes/often | 775 | 2.8 |
| Always | 116 | 0.4 |
| Frequent thoughts about spouse/partner who died intrude on usual activities | ||
| Did not experience death of spouse/partner | 24 183 | 88.0 |
| Never/rarely | 787 | 2.9 |
| Sometimes/often | 459 | 1.7 |
| Always | 36 | 0.1 |
| Optimism construct, mean (SD) | 23.6 (3.6) | |
| Purpose in life construct (7-item scale), mean (SD) | 19.2 (4.8) | |
| Medical history ‡ | ||
| CVD | 3 288 | 12.0 |
| Cancer | 7 078 | 25.8 |
| Treated diabetes | 5 530 | 20.1 |
| Treated hypertension | 19 518 | 71.0 |
| Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), mean (SD) | 26.0 (5.2) | |
| Vascular risk factors score (0–4), mean (SD)§ | 1.1 (0.8) | |
| History of depression (DIS)† | 1 274 | 4.6 |
| Social connection | ||
| Lives alone† | 12 857 | 46.8 |
| Living arrangement† | ||
| Independently in the community | 21 584 | 78.6 |
| With family other than spouse, assisted living or skilled nursing facility, other | 5 256 | 19.1 |
| Changes in living arrangement since March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic | 1 676 | 6.1 |
| Living situation restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic | 3 795 | 13.8 |
| Communication with others outside the home | ||
| Every day or several times per week | 21 973 | 80.0 |
| 1–2 times per week, or less | 4 612 | 16.8 |
| Frequency of communication, compared to before the pandemic | ||
| About the same, or more often than before | 19 542 | 71.1 |
| Less often than before | 7 051 | 25.7 |
| Ways of staying in touch with others | ||
| Speaking in person | 10 684 | 38.9 |
| Telephone, video, social media, email or postal mail, but not in person | 16 257 | 59.2 |
| Psychological and mental health ‖ | ||
| Perceived stress 4-item score, mean (SD) | 4.6 (2.9) | |
| CES-D 6-item scale, mean (SD) | 2.8 (2.5) | |
| CES-D score ≥5 | 5 191 | 18.9 |
| PROMIS anxiety 4-item T-score, mean (SD) | 50.7 (8.2) | |
| PROMIS anxiety score ≥60 | 3 262 | 11.9 |
Notes: CVD = cardiovascular disease; COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019; CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies—Depression scale; SD = standard deviation; DIS = Diagnostic Interview Schedule; PROMIS = Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Numbers and percentages do not always sum to the total, due to missing data.
*At the 2014–2016 assessment, mean age (SD) for this cohort: 78.0 (5.4).
†Life events items and history of depression were collected on the Activities of Daily Life survey in 2020, living alone and living arrangement status.
‡Medical history data (except history of depression) were collected as part of the ongoing WHI follow-up assessments; these variables come from the annual follow-up assessment closest to the time of collection of the 2020 surveys.
§Vascular risk factors score is a composite of treated diabetes, treated hypertension, current smoker, and BMI ≥30. Presence of each characteristic contributes one point to the score.
‖Perceived stress ranges from 0 (no stress) to 16 (greatest stress); CES-D ranges from 0 to 18 (≥5 considered to have depressive symptoms); PROMIS Anxiety T-score ranges from 40.3 to 81.6. General population mean is 50 (SD = 10). Higher score = greater anxiety.