Table 1.

Sample Characteristics (N = 1,801)

Sample CharacteristicsMeanSE%
PCS-12 = physical component score of the Short Form-12; MCS-12 = mental component score of the Short Form-12); QOL = quality of life; SDI = Sheehan Disability Index.
Sociodemographic characteristics
Age
    ≤64 y23.2
    65–69 y22.5
    70v74 y19.5
    5–79 y20.1
    ≥80 y14.7
Sex, female64.9
Race or ethnicity
    White77.0
    African American12.3
    Hispanic7.6
    Other3.1
Education
    Less than high school graduate19.2
    High school graduate or general equivalency diploma22.7
    Some college35.3
    College graduate or graduate degree22.8
Marital status
    Married or living with partner46.3
    Divorced, separated, or never married28.9
    Widowed24.8
Psychiatric illnesses
Depression severity (0–4), ↑ scores indicate ↑ depression1.680.014
Chronic depression83.0
Positive screening test for posttraumatic stress disorder10.6
Positive screening test for panic disorder21.7
Anxiety-neuroticism, ↑ scores indicate ↑ neuroticism19.620.126
Positive screening test for mild cognitive impairment35.4
Medical Illnesses
Chronic lung disease23.3
Hypertension57.9
Diabetes23.2
Arthritis55.6
Sensory deficit55.2
Cancer (excluding skin cancer)10.9
Neurological disease8.4
Heart disease27.6
Chronic pain56.8
Gastrointestinal disease20.9
Urinary/prostate disease38.7
Sum of all chronic diseases (0–11)3.790.046
General health indicators
PCS-12 (0–100), ↑ scores indicate better functioning40.260.150
MCS-12 (0–100), ↑ scores indicate better functioning36.680.235
QOL (0–10), ↑ scores indicate better QOL5.350.047
SDI (0–10), ↑ scores indicate greater disability4.630.061