Table 3.
Top-ranked predictors of the Healthy Aging Index for the total study population and the four generations, and the average ranking list of the top-ranked predictors of the four generations together
| Ranking | Exposures | Domain | Total population (n = 2815) | # of times selected as predictor | Average ranking if selecteda | Generation 1960s (n = 459) | Generation 1950s (n = 1155) | Generation 1940s (n = 872) | Generation 1930s (n = 329) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Body mass index (AUE) | Biological | 1 | 4 | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Waist/hip ratio (AUE) | Biological | 3 | 4 | 3.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Waist circumference (AUE) | Biological | 2 | 4 | 3.5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Body mass index (TOE) | Biological | 4 | 3 | 6.0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | |
| 5 | Cholesterol medication (% of the time yes) | Biological | 5 | 2 | 2.5 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Total cholesterol (TOE) | Biological | 10 | 2 | 5.0 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 7 | Educational levelb | Demographic | 9 | 2 | 6.5 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 8 | Total/HDL cholesterol (AUE) | Biological | 8 | 2 | 7.0 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 9 | Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015 (AUE) | Lifestyle | 6 | 2 | 7.5 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 10 | HDL cholesterol (AUE) | Biological | 7 | 2 | 7.5 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 11 | HDL cholesterol (TOE) | Biological | 2 | 8.0 | 7 | 9 | |||
| 12 | Total/HDL cholesterol (TOE) | Biological | 1 | 4.0 | 4 | ||||
| 13 | Packyears (AUE) | Lifestyle | 1 | 6.0 | 6 | ||||
| 14 | Smoking status (% of the time smoker) | Lifestyle | 1 | 6.0 | 6 | ||||
| 15 | Working hours (AUE) | Demographic | 1 | 8.0 | 8 | ||||
| 16 | PM2.5 (AUE) | Environmental | 1 | 9.0 | 9 | ||||
| 17 | Cholesterol medication (% from no to yes) | Biological | 1 | 10.0 | 10 | ||||
| 18 | Waist circumference (TOE) | Biological | 1 | 10.0 | 10 |
AUE Area-Under-the-Exposure, TOE Trend-Of-the-Exposure
The top-ranked predictors were selected through cross-validation (x = 10 for the total population, x = 4 for generation 1960s, x = 11 for generation 1950s, x = 11 for generations 1940s, and x = 10 for generation 1930s)
aCalculated by dividing the sum of a particular exposure’s ranking position for all generations by the number of times the exposure has been selected as top-ranked predictor (e.g., for body mass index (AUE), this is (3 + 1 + 1 + 7)/4 = 3.0)
bEducational level represents the highest level of education attained and is not a time-varying exposure