Korean Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology

Table. 1.

Table. 1.

Characteristics of participants by age disparity between couples

Similar* (n=848) Older husband (n=3,240) Older wife (n=206) P-value
Demographics
Age (yr) 68.6±8.9 69.3±8.3 69.6±8.7 0.058
Age gap from the partner - 4.9±2.8 2.5±4.2 <0.001
Female 381 (44.9) 1,557 (48.1) 146 (70.9) <0.001
Low income 359 (42.3) 1,490 (46.0) 104 (50.5) 0.041
Low education 392 (46.2) 1,720 (53.1) 135 (65.5) <0.001
No religion 546 (64.4) 2,015 (62.2) 134 (65.0) 0.382
No current job 451 (53.2) 1,999 (61.7) 131 (63.6) <0.001
Health-related habits
Obesity 203 (23.9) 773 (23.9) 58 (28.2) 0.343
Current smoking 98 (11.6) 309 (9.5) 23 (11.2) 0.186
Over drinking 46 (5.4) 126 (3.9) 9 (4.4) 0.140
No regular exercise 545 (64.3) 2,065 (63.7) 144 (69.9) 0.201
Comorbidities
Hypertension 376 (44.3) 1,394 (43.0) 104 (50.5) 0.101
Type 2 diabetes 151 (17.8) 653 (20.2) 33 (16.0) 0.134
Cardiovascular diseases 112 (13.2) 436 (13.5) 23 (11.2) 0.641
Mental health
No social contact 160 (18.9) 616 (19.0) 50 (24.3) 0.170
Depressed 70 (8.3) 288 (8.9) 24 (11.7) 0.307
Satisfied with (range, 0-100)
Own health 59.7±19.1 59.0±19.3 57.0±19.3 0.187
Current wealth 57.7±18.6 57.4±18.3 55.0±19.7 0.139
Offspring 71.6±14.4 71.5±14.4 70.3±12.9 0.680
Spouse 68.5±15.7 67.6±15.3 64.8±15.2 0.009
Overall 64.3±16.1 64.3±15.5 61.6±16.9 0.050

Data are presented as means±standard deviations or numbers (%). -, not applicable. *Age gap ≤1 year. As determined by one-way analysis of variance or the χ2 test, as appropriate.

Korean J Geriatr Gerontol 2024;25:144-149 https://doi.org/10.15656/kjgg.2024.25.3.144
© 2024 Korean J Geriatr Gerontol