Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of middle-aged and elderly people in China (2011,n = 11,496)
Variables | Total (n = 11,496) | Rural (n = 9,457) | Urban (n = 2,039) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Region |  |  |  |  < 0.001 |
 West | 3,755 (32.66) | 3,222 (34.07) | 533 (26.14) |  |
 Central | 3,772 (32.81) | 2,931 (30.99) | 841 (41.25) |  |
 East | 3,969 (34.53) | 3,304 (34.94) | 665 (32.61) |  |
Sex | ||||
 Male | 6,076 (52.85) | 5,105 (53.98) | 971 (47.62) |  < 0.001 |
 Female | 5,420 (47.15) | 4,352 (46.02) | 1,068 (52.38) |  |
Age (years) | ||||
 45—50 | 2,640 (22.96) | 2,232 (23.60) | 408 (20.01) |  < 0.001 |
 51—60 | 4,528 (39.39) | 3,774 (39.91) | 754 (36.98) |  |
 61—70 | 3,121 (27.15) | 2,509 (26.53) | 612 (30.01) |  |
 ≥ 71 | 1,207 (10.50) | 942 (9.96) | 265 (13.00) |  |
Education | ||||
 Elementary school and below | 7,806 (67.90) | 7,032 (74.36) | 774 (37.96) |  < 0.001 |
 Junior high school and above | 3,690 (32.10) | 2,425 (25.64) | 1,265 (62.04) |  |
Marital status | ||||
 Marriage | 10,319 (89.76) | 8,480 (89.67) | 1,839 (90.19) | 0.480 |
 Others | 1,177 (10.24) | 977 (10.33) | 200 (9.81) |  |
Insurance | ||||
 No | 626 (5.45) | 432 (4.57) | 194 (9.51) |  < 0.001 |
 Yes | 10,870 (94.55) | 9,025 (95.43) | 1,845 (90.49) |  |
Household expenditure per capita (CNY) | ||||
Mean ± S.D | 5,419.10 (5472.43) | 4,803.33 (4802.00) | 8,275.96 (7211.59) |  < 0.001 |
 Low | 1,710.87 (722.48) | 1,703.65 (722.65) | 1,796.38 (716.17) | 0.381 |
 Medium | 4,036.74 (763.22) | 4,010.84 (762.27) | 4,181.67 (752.88) |  < 0.001 |
 High | 10,511.39 (6867.90) | 9,900.45 (6404.24) | 11,900.81 (7643.87) |  < 0.001 |
Life style | ||||
 Smoke | ||||
  Yes | 4,492 (39.07) | 3,707 (39.20) | 785 (38.50) | 0.557 |
  No | 7,004 (60.39) | 5,750 (60.80) | 1,254 (61.50) |  |
 Drink | ||||
  Yes | 3,849 (33.48) | 3,160 (33.41) | 689 (33.79) | 0.744 |
  No | 7,647 (66.52) | 6,297 (66.59) | 1,350 (66.21) |  |
Health status | ||||
 Disability | ||||
  Yes | 469 (4.08) | 404 (4.27) | 65 (3.19) | 0.025 |
  No | 11,027 (95.92) | 9,053 (95.73) | 1,974 (96.81) |  |
 Chronic disease | ||||
  Yes | 7,713 (67.09) | 6,286 (66.47) | 1,427(69.99) |  < 0.002 |
  No | 3,783 (32.91) | 3,171 (33.53) | 612 (30.01) |  |