Summary statistics for the Biological Health Score (BHS) calculated by age group
| Age groups | |||||
| 20–40 | 41–52 | 53–64 | 65–79 | Total sample | |
| (n=2276) | (n=2380) | (n=2298) | (n=2134) | (N=9088) | |
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 3.914 (2.731) | 4.016 (2.493) | 4.033 (2.427) | 3.955 (2.212) | 3.981 (2.466) |
| Female | 3.707 (2.447) | 3.735 (2.609) | 3.697 (2.363) | 3.828 (2.212) | 3.738 (2.424) |
| P value | 0.237 | 0.002 | 0.001 | 0.202 | <0.0001 |
| Education | |||||
| Low | 4.988 (2.926) | 4.517 (2.651) | 4.527 (2.318) | 4.184 (2.340) | 4.386 (2.422) |
| Intermediate | 4.073 (2.639) | 4.050 (2.504) | 3.890 (2.405) | 3.854 (2.147) | 3.971 (2.438) |
| High | 3.482 (2.437) | 3.503 (2.585) | 3.464 (2.350) | 3.642 (2.150) | 3.510 (2.416) |
| P value | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0005 | <0.0001 |
| Marital status | |||||
| Single | 3.455 (2.554) | 3.936 (2.640) | 3.979 (2.540) | 3.602 (2.083) | 3.638 (2.538) |
| Living as couple or married | 3.935 (2.558) | 3.791 (2.534) | 3.758 (2.371) | 3.834 (2.213) | 3.826 (2.429) |
| Separated or divorced | 3.775 (2.729) | 4.154 (2.667) | 4.089 (2.411) | 4.284 (2.197) | 4.126 (2.485) |
| Widowed | 2.750 (2.061) | 3.250 (2.468) | 4.308 (2.489) | 3.955 (2.236) | 3.994 (2.308) |
| P value | 0.0003 | 0.082 | 0.027 | 0.025 | <0.0001 |
| Household overcrowding | |||||
| No | 3.754 (2.553) | 3.808 (2.569) | 3.870 (2.388) | 3.902 (2.223) | 3.835 (2.436) |
| Yes | 3.947 (2.640) | 4.148 (2.524) | 3.564 (2.519) | 3.716 (2.054) | 3.916 (2.520) |
| P value | 0.190 | 0.010 | 0.055 | 0.460 | 0.444 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| None | 3.535 (2.444) | 3.352 (2.382) | 3.290 (2.237) | 3.406 (2.107) | 3.411 (2.346) |
| One | 4.072 (2.659) | 4.198 (2.565) | 3.804 (2.360) | 3.730 (2.134) | 3.938 (2.428) |
| Two or more | 5.318 (2.818) | 5.032 (2.752) | 4.550 (2.440) | 4.259 (2.268) | 4.564 (2.478) |
| P value | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
| Number of treatments | |||||
| None | 3.539 (2.505) | 3.449 (2.432) | 3.326 (2.279) | 3.489 (2.146) | 3.460 (2.404) |
| One | 3.899 (2.520) | 3.784 (2.438) | 3.772 (2.271) | 3.529 (2.017) | 3.747 (2.321) |
| Two or more | 5.069 (2.685) | 4.970 (2.721) | 4.432 (2.482) | 4.180 (2.278) | 4.476 (2.482) |
| P value | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
| Smoking | |||||
| Never | 3.613 (2.541) | 3.623 (2.493) | 3.733 (2.404) | 3.711 (2.181) | 3.666 (2.421) |
| Yes | 3.917 (2.584) | 4.030 (2.607) | 3.918 (2.392) | 3.990 (2.224) | 3.963 (2.455) |
| P value | 0.004 | 0.0002 | 0.054 | 0.007 | <0.0001 |
| Sports activity | |||||
| At least one sport | 3.762 (2.573) | 3.690 (2.510) | 3.671 (2.414) | 3.771 (2.188) | 3.722 (2.443) |
| None | 3.889 (2.562) | 4.217 (2.651) | 4.140 (2.343) | 4.051 (2.237) | 4.086 (2.432) |
| P value | 0.239 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0057 | <0.0001 |
| Alcohol consumption | |||||
| Non-drinker | 4.310 (2.752) | 4.794 (2.851) | 4.331 (2.638) | 3.984 (2.119) | 4.338 (2.596) |
| Social drinker | 3.900 (2.533) | 4.297 (2.679) | 4.157 (2.379) | 3.977 (2.250) | 4.073 (2.477) |
| Moderate drinker | 3.668 (2.636) | 3.518 (2.407) | 3.783 (2.353) | 3.864 (2.149) | 3.694 (2.410) |
| Daily drinker | 3.687 (2.499) | 3.480 (2.431) | 3.496 (2.310) | 3.707 (2.245) | 3.580 (2.362) |
| P value | 0.006 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.068 | <0.0001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | |||||
| Under 18.5 | 2.200 (1.728) | 2.214 (1.477) | 2.692 (1.652) | 3.714 (1.267) | 2.543 (1.674) |
| 18.5 and below 25 | 2.636 (1.973) | 2.446 (1.813) | 2.643 (2.007) | 2.799 (1.783) | 2.619 (1.908) |
| 25 and below 30 | 3.737 (2.277) | 3.587 (2.266) | 3.589 (2.138) | 3.818 (2.031) | 3.680 (2.179) |
| 30 and below 40 | 5.633 (2.600) | 5.173 (2.647) | 4.971 (2.369) | 4.641 (2.355) | 5.072 (2.513) |
| Above 40 | 6.912 (2.361) | 6.505 (2.452) | 5.818 (2.383) | 5.773 (2.400) | 6.301 (2.434) |
| P value | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 |
Results are presented for each gender and each class of the categorical covariates. Differences in BHS across covariate categories (1) within each age group and (2) across all age groups (last column) were investigated using a Kruskal-Wallis rank test and the corresponding p values are reported.