Characteristics of the study population at baseline 1990, by marital status, gender and age
| N | % | Deaths | Deaths/1000 person-years* | High education† ‡ (%) | Swiss nationality† (%) | Religious affiliation† § (%) | German speaking cantons† (%) | Employed† (%) | |
| 45–64-year-old men | |||||||||
| Married | 608 660 | 82.7 | 91 700 | 11.1 | 23.2 | 79.3 | 91.6 | 72.0 | 93.8 |
| Widowed | 12 142 | 1.7 | 3428 | 22.5 | 16.6 | 82.0 | 90.6 | 70.8 | 85.1 |
| Divorced | 52 354 | 7.1 | 11 680 | 17.0 | 21.6 | 80.9 | 79.6 | 71.1 | 91.1 |
| Single | 62 817 | 8.5 | 15 703 | 19.5 | 15.0 | 81.1 | 87.3 | 70.7 | 86.6 |
| All | 735 973 | 100 | 122 511 | 12.4 | 22.2 | 79.6 | 90.4 | 71.8 | 92.9 |
| 45–64-year-old women | |||||||||
| Married | 560 881 | 73.6 | 46 062 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 87.5 | 93.8 | 72.1 | 44.8 |
| Widowed | 64 940 | 8.5 | 9243 | 10.2 | 3.7 | 90.5 | 94.0 | 69.8 | 47.0 |
| Divorced | 67 434 | 8.9 | 7434 | 7.8 | 9.0 | 89.8 | 85.5 | 69.5 | 79.8 |
| Single | 68 400 | 9.0 | 8306 | 8.7 | 13.0 | 82.0 | 91.1 | 69.8 | 75.6 |
| All | 761 655 | 100 | 71 045 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 87.5 | 92.9 | 71.5 | 50.8 |
| 65–79-year-old men | |||||||||
| Married | 239 114 | 79.0 | 146 739 | 58.6 | 17.3 | 94.6 | 93.6 | 72.7 | |
| Widowed | 28 752 | 9.5 | 21 443 | 83.3 | 11.3 | 95.3 | 93.3 | 72.3 | |
| Divorced | 10 473 | 3.5 | 7215 | 73.0 | 16.2 | 91.2 | 83.0 | 69.9 | |
| Single | 24 242 | 8.0 | 17 257 | 76.4 | 11.6 | 94.2 | 93.1 | 70.9 | |
| All | 302 581 | 100 | 192 654 | 62.5 | 16.2 | 94.5 | 93.2 | 72.5 | |
| 65–79-year-old women | |||||||||
| Married | 187 350 | 46.4 | 79 219 | 34.4 | 3.1 | 96.7 | 95.4 | 72.8 | |
| Widowed | 146 517 | 36.3 | 79 728 | 47.9 | 2.4 | 95.8 | 95.9 | 71.1 | |
| Divorced | 20 852 | 5.2 | 10 291 | 42.4 | 5.5 | 94.2 | 89.5 | 68.5 | |
| Single | 48 730 | 12.1 | 25 406 | 45.4 | 6.9 | 90.7 | 95.9 | 71.8 | |
| All | 403 449 | 100 | 194 644 | 40.8 | 3.4 | 95.5 | 95.3 | 71.8 | |
| 80+-year-old men | |||||||||
| Married | 44 694 | 58.5 | 42 881 | 171.8 | 14.1 | 95.6 | 94.5 | 72.1 | |
| Widowed | 23 987 | 31.4 | 23 409 | 207.0 | 10.0 | 96.5 | 94.6 | 73.1 | |
| Divorced | 1496 | 2.0 | 1437 | 184.7 | 11.4 | 91.1 | 86.8 | 69.1 | |
| Single | 6214 | 8.1 | 5995 | 194.2 | 10.1 | 95.0 | 94.6 | 71.3 | |
| All | 76 391 | 100 | 73 722 | 183.7 | 12.4 | 95.7 | 94.4 | 72.3 | |
| 80+-year-old women | |||||||||
| Married | 24 710 | 15.4 | 22 681 | 131.6 | 2.2 | 97.7 | 95.9 | 72.2 | |
| Widowed | 103 063 | 64.3 | 97 160 | 156.0 | 1.5 | 96.4 | 96.4 | 71.8 | |
| Divorced | 6231 | 3.9 | 5832 | 151.3 | 3.9 | 95.9 | 92.6 | 70.2 | |
| Single | 26 189 | 16.4 | 24 569 | 152.8 | 3.9 | 92.3 | 96.5 | 72.8 | |
| All | 160 193 | 100 | 150 240 | 151.0 | 2.1 | 95.9 | 96.2 | 72.0 | |
| All age groups, men | |||||||||
| Married | 892 468 | 80.1 | 281 320 | 25.6 | 21.2 | 84.2 | 92.3 | 72.2 | |
| Widowed | 64 881 | 5.8 | 48 280 | 92.3 | 11.8 | 93.3 | 93.3 | 72.3 | |
| Divorced | 64 323 | 5.8 | 20 332 | 25.6 | 20.5 | 82.8 | 80.3 | 70.9 | |
| Single | 93 273 | 8.4 | 38 955 | 36.6 | 13.8 | 85.4 | 89.3 | 70.8 | |
| All | 1 114 945 | 100 | 388 887 | 29.1 | 19.9 | 84.8 | 91.4 | 72.0 | |
| All age groups, women | |||||||||
| Married | 772 941 | 58.3 | 147 962 | 14.2 | 4.7 | 90.1 | 94.3 | 72.3 | |
| Widowed | 314 520 | 23.7 | 186 131 | 58.2 | 2.4 | 94.9 | 95.7 | 71.1 | |
| Divorced | 94 517 | 7.1 | 23 555 | 19.0 | 7.9 | 91.1 | 86.8 | 69.3 | |
| Single | 143 319 | 10.8 | 58 281 | 34.8 | 9.2 | 86.8 | 93.7 | 71.0 | |
| All | 1 325 297 | 100 | 415 929 | 25.1 | 4.9 | 90.9 | 94.0 | 71.6 | |
% and n may not add to 100% and total n because of rounding.
↵* Differences between the categories of marital status are statistically significant within each gender and age class. Exceptions: deaths/1000 person-years for 80+-year-old divorced and single men, 80+-year-old widowed, divorced and single women as well as married and divorced men of all age groups.
↵† All differences are statistically significant within each gender and age class, as tested by χ2 test.
↵‡ High education refers to tertiary education and graduate school (university).
↵§ Religious affiliation (Protestant, Catholic, other religions).