Table 2 Main domains and variables on which information was collected at baseline

Demographic and anthropometric characteristics

Age, sex, height and weight, marital status, ethnic origin, qualifications and education, household composition

Current work status

Employed, self-employed, unemployed, or retired; more than one job; left last job for a health reason; receiving an ill-health pension

Content and characteristics of paid work

Main occupation, length of service, pattern of work (e.g., salaried vs. piece work, permanent vs. temporary, shift and night working, income protection in illness, flexibility of working hours) and employer’s size; physical demands of work (e.g., regular kneeling, climbing, digging, lifting, and standing)

Perceptions about work

Psychosocial demands, support from colleagues or manager, decision latitude, self-assessed ability to cope with the physical and mental demands of work; worry or anger about work; other feelings about work, e.g., satisfaction with work schedule, pay, and the job overall, conflicts at work and relational justice, perceived job security

Perceptions about retirement

Retirement expectations, ambitions and plans (e.g., expected and ideal retirement age)

Financial status

Housing tenure, affordability of consumer durables, contribution to total household income, pension provision, financial responsibility for others

Social

Leisure and social activities; smoking and alcohol history; workplace friendships; caring and voluntary responsibilities

Health

Self-rated health (SRH) [22]; an abridged Sleep Problems Scale [23]; five items from the somatising subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) [24]; the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) [25], the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) [26]; certain items on frailty (based on the Fried frailty index [27]), and hearing and memory impairments; chronic regional pain in the past 12 months; sickness absence in the past 12 months; presenteeism