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Table 1 Characteristics of subjects in the weighted AHEAD sample

From: Disability incidence and functional decline among older adults with major chronic diseases

Variable

Mean

Age as at baseline

84.3 (3.56)

Female

60.0%

Years of education

11.3 (3.48)

Marital status:

 Not married

7.3%

 Married

36.2%

 Widowed

56.5%

Prevalence of ADL disabilities as at wave 2006:

 Bathing

34.3%

 Dressing

28.4%

 Transfer bed /chair

18.3%

 Walking

30.3%

 Toileting

21.1%

 Eating

17.6%

Prevalence of ADL disabilities as at wave 2014:

 Bathing

50.0%

 Dressing

51.0%

 Transferring bed /chair

33.6%

 Walking

42.7%

 Toileting

33.6%

 Eating

36.1%

Ever have a ‘big four’ chronic disease (1998–2014)

76.6%

By condition:

 Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

59.4%

 Cancer

22.0%

 Diabetes

14.5%

 Chronic lung disease

13.0%

 Any of these ‘big four’ conditions

75.0%

  1. Notes: The weighted full sample comprises 4,587,315 subjects (unweighted: 1604). Of these, 3,514,052 subjects (unweighted: 1203) either had a major chronic disease at 1998 baseline or developed such a condition over the follow-up period. The comparison group comprises 1,073,263 subjects (unweighted: 401)