Table 1

Baseline characteristics of participating elderly men and women according to mortality status during follow-up. Participants from the Tromsø (1994–1995) and HUNT (1995–1997) studies

CharacteristicMenWomen
SurvivorsNon-survivorsp Value*SurvivorsNon-survivorsp Value*
Number of subjects3687391755503557
Person-years of follow-up43233254576526724993
Age at inclusion, mean (SD)70.4 (4.2)75.1 (6.2)<0.001†71.4 (4.8)76.8 (6.2)<0.001†
BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD)26.6 (3.3)26.2 (3.7)<0.001†27.5 (4.4)27.2 (4.9)0.001†
BMI, % (n)
 <20.01.3 (49)3.5 (136)<0.001‡2.5 (139)4.9 (174)<0.001‡
 20.0–24.929.8 (1100)33.9 (1329)26.5 (1472)30.2 (1075)
 25.0–29.954.5 (2009)48.1 (1885)44.9 (2492)39.1 (1390)
 ≥30.014.4 (529)14.4 (567)26.1 (1447)25.8 (918)
Currently married, % (n)80.2 (2957)70.0 (2743)<0.001‡55.0 (3052)36.7 (1306)<0.001‡
Lower education, % (n)56.3 (2076)63.6 (2493)<0.001‡76.9 (4269)82.0 (2918)<0.001‡
Smoking status, % (n)
 Never smoked21.5 (793)19.4 (760)<0.001‡61.0 (3386)64.0 (2276)<0.001‡
 Stopped ≥20 years ago31.6 (1165)26.2 (1026)9.1 (507)6.2 (222)
 Stopped 10–19 years ago13.4 (494)14.7 (577)9.4 (524)8.3 (296)
 Stopped <10 years ago10.0 (369)11.4 (445)4.6 (258)4.9 (173)
 Current <10 cigarettes/day9.0 (332)10.0 (391)8.7 (485)8.5 (304)
 Current ≥10 cigarettes/day14.5 (534)18.3 (718)7.0 (390)8.0 (286)
  • * p Value for differences between groups using the †t test or ‡χ2 test.

  • BMI, body mass index; HUNT, the North-Trøndelag Health Study.