Table 1

Characteristics of study participants (N=6118) at baseline, first and second follow-up, by sex

MenWomen
BaselineFirst follow-upSecond follow-upBaselineFirst follow-upSecond follow-up
n=2769
(45%)
n=2769
(45%)
n=1363
(45%)
n=3349
(55%)
n=3349
(55%)
n=1692
(55%)
n (%)n (%)n (%)n (%)n (%)n (%)
Grip strength (kg) (mean (SD))41.6 (9.4)39.1 (9.8)37.3 (9.1)24.9 (6.4)23.4 (6.7)22.4 (6.2)
Change in grip strength between the measurements (kg) (mean (SD))*−2.5 (7.2)−2.9 (6.6)−1.5 (5.1)−1.4 (4.9)
UCLA Loneliness Scale score 3–9 (median (IQR))3 (3–5)3 (3–5)3 (3–4)4 (3–5)4 (3–5)4 (3–5)
Change in UCLA loneliness score between the measurements (mean (SD))*0.08 (1.3)0.05 (1.2)0.09 (1.4)0.02 (1.4)
Age category (years)
 50–601190 (43)722 (26)23 (2)1484 (44)882 (26)30 (2)
 61–70980 (35)1086 (39)699 (51)1127 (34)1316 (39)850 (50)
 ≥71599 (22)961 (35)641 (47)738 (22)1151 (34)812 (48)
Employment status
 Retired1349 (49)1688 (61)1068 (78)1558 (47)2080 (62)1363 (81)
 Employed1210 (44)907 (33)248 (18)1153 (34)799 (24)184 (11)
 Unemployed70 (3)63 (2)22 (2)520 (16)378 (11)124 (7)
 Permanently sick or disabled140 (5)111 (4)25 (2)118 (4)92 (3)21 (1)
NS-SEC by occupation
 Managerial and professional occupations1262 (46)1202 (43)589 (43)1020 (30)993 (30)466 (28)
 Intermediate occupations541 (20)577 (21)288 (21)988 (30)1016 (30)552 (33)
 Routine and manual occupations966 (35)990 (36)486 (36)1341 (40)1340 (40)674 (40)
Living alone
 No2364 (85)2303 (83)1142 (84)2480 (74)2370 (71)1134 (67)
 Yes405 (15)466 (17)221 (16)869 (26)979 (29)558 (33)
Arthritis
 No2549 (92)2640 (95)1312 (96)2963 (88)3160 (94)1624 (96)
 Yes220 (8)129 (5)51 (4)386 (12)189 (6)68 (4)
Cancer
 No2709 (98)2703 (98)1320 (97)3263 (97)3284 (98)1661 (98)
 Yes60 (2)66 (2)43 (3)86 (3)65 (2)31 (2)
Diabetes
 No2647 (96)2706 (98)1344 (99)3249 (97)3286 (98)1677 (99)
 Yes122 (4)63 (2)19 (1)100 (3)63 (2)15 (1)
Cardiovascular diseases
 No2607 (94)2672 (96)1323 (97)3211 (96)3251 (97)1645 (97)
 Yes162 (6)97 (4)40 (3)138 (4)98 (3)47 (3)
Stroke
 No2742 (99)2733 (99)1347 (99)3322 (99)3322 (99)1682 (99)
 Yes27 (1)36 (1)16 (1)27 (1)27 (1)10 (1)
  • The baseline comprises initial measurements at the entry of the study of each participant; the first and second follow-up were conducted 4 and 8 years thereafter.

  • *The third measure is in comparison to the second.

  • NS-SEC, National Statistics Socioeconomic Classification; UCLA, University of California Los Angeles.