Skip to main content

Table 4 Sociodemographic characteristic, medical profile, nutritional status, dietary intake and psychosocial profile of rural respondents [Presented as mean ± SD or n(%)]

From: Factors associated with poor socioeconomic status among Malaysian older adults: an analysis according to urban and rural settings

 

Low SES (n = 325)

Medium SES (n = 373)

High SES (n = 433)

Total (n = 1131)

Age, years

70.9 ± 6.6

68.5 ± 6.5

68.7 ± 5.9

69.5 ± 6.5***

Education, years

3.3 ± 2.8

4.7 ± 3.2

4.4 ± 3.4

4.4 ± 3.4***

Gender

 Women

245 (56.6)

164 (44.0)

143 (44.0)

552 (48.8)***

 Men

188 (43.4)

209 (56.0)

182 (31.4)

579 (51.2)

Ethnicity

 Malay

382 (88.2)

322 (86.3)

281 (28.5)

985 (87.1)

 Chinese

45 (10.4)

42 (11.3)

39 (12.0)

126 (11.1)

 India & Others

6 (1.4)

9 (2.4)

5 (1.5)

18 (1.6)

Marital status

 Single

11 (3.4)

9 (2.5)

6 (1.4)

26 (2.4)***

 Married

204 (63.8)

264 (72.1)

333 (79.3)

801 (72.4)

 Divorced

105 (32.8)

93 (25.4)

81 (19.3)

279 (25.2)

Smoking

 Non-smoker

280 (87.5)

308 (84.2)

384 (91.4)

972 (87.9)**

 Smoker

40 (12.5)

58 (15.8)

36 (8.6)

134 (12.1)

Living Status

 With others

266 (83.1)

324 (88.5)

401 (95.5)

991 (89.6)***

 Alone

54 (16.9)

42 (11.5)

19 (4.5)

115 (10.4)

Medical History

 Diabetes

  No

334 (77.1)

277 (74.3)

245 (75.4)

856 (75.7)

  Yes

99 (22.9)

96 (25.7)

80 (24.6)

275 (24.3)

 Hypertension

  No

209 (48.3)

192 (51.5)

173 (53.2)

574 (50.8)

  Yes

224 (51.7)

181 (48.5)

152 (46.8)

557 (49.2)

 Vision or hearing

  No

951 (84.1)

312 (83.6)

295 (90.8)

951 (84.1)***

  Yes

180 (15.9)

61 (16.4)

30 (9.2)

180 (15.9)

 Urinary incontinence

  No

294 (90.5)

327 (87.7)

374 (86.4)

995 (88.0)

  Yes

31 (9.5)

46 (12.3)

59 (13.6)

136 (12.0)

 Constipation

  No

368 (85.0)

326 (87.4)

296 (91.1)

990 (87.5)*

  Yes

65 (15.0)

47 (12.6)

29 (8.9)

141 (12.5)

 Asthma

  No

371 (85.7)

336 (90.1)

303 (93.2)

1042 (94.2)**

  Yes

62 (14.3)

37 (9.9)

22 (6.8)

64 (5.8)

 Heart disease

  No

392 (90.5)

336 (90.1)

286 (88.8)

1014 (89.7)

  Yes

41 (9.5)

37 (9.9)

39 (11.2)

117 (10.3)

 Arthritis

  No

249 (76.6)

273 (73.2)

307 (70.9)

829 (73.3)

  Yes

76 (23.4)

100 (26.8)

126 (29.1)

302 (26.7)

 Stroke

  No

316 (98.2)

363 (97.3)

423 (97.7)

1105 (97.7)

  Yes

6 (1.8)

10 (2.7)

10 (2.3)

26 (2.3)

 Hypercholesterolemia

  No

232 (71.4)

282 (75.6)

338 (78.1)

852 (75.3)

  Yes

93 (28.6)

91 (24.4)

95 (21.9)

279 (24.7)

Anthropometry

 Body Mass Index, kg/m2

25.7 ± 4.2

24.7 ± 4.1

24.0 ± 4.7

24.7 ± 4.4***

 Waist Hip Ratio

0.9 ± 0.1

0.9 ± 0.1

0.9 ± 0.1

0.9 ± 0.1

 Weight, kg

56.0 ± 12.1

60.2 ± 11.5

62.8 ± 12.2

59.3 ± 12.2***

 Height, cm

152.6 ± 8.7

155.8 ± 8.2

156.2 ± 8.6

154.7 ± 8.7***

 MUAC, cm

27.4 ± 3.6

28.3 ± 3.2

28.9 ± 3.4

28.1 ± 3.5***

 Waist circumference, cm

86.1 ± 12.3

87.5 ± 10.8

89.3 ± 10.7

87.5 ± 11.4**

 Hip circumference, cm

93.0 ± 9.9

95.0 ± 9.0

97.6 ± 9.2

95.0 ± 9.6***

 Calf circumference, cm

31.3 ± 3.8

32.7 ± 3.4

33.7 ± 3.6

32.5 ± 3.8***

 BMI category, n(%)

  Underweight

232 (54.1)

162 (44.4)

109 (34.4)

503 (45.3)***

  Normal

101 (23.5)

107 (29.3)

95 (30.0)

303 (27.3)

  Overweight

96 (22.4)

96 (26.3)

113 (35.6)

305 (27.5)

Dietary

 Protein, per 1000 kcal/day

44.8 ± 8.4

43.7 ± 8.5

43.5 ± 8.8

44.0 ± 8.6

 Carbohydrate, per 1000 kcal/day

135.6 ± 20.4

135.9 ± 20.1

134.0 ± 19.6

135.2 ± 20.3

 Fat, per 1000 kcal/day

31.1 ± 9.1

31.2 ± 7.6

32.2 ± 7.3

31.4 ± 8.1

 SFA, per 1000 kcal/day

4.9 ± 2.8

5.0 ± 2.8

4.8 ± 2.8

4.9 ± 2.8

 Fibre, per 1000 kcal/day

1.8 ± 1.1

2.1 ± 1.3

2.5 ± 1.4

2.1 ± 1.3

 Sugar, per 1000 kcal/day

11.5 ± 9.0

14.0 ± 10.3

14.4 ± 9.0

13.2 ± 9.6

 Vitamin C, per 1000  kcal/day

61.2 ± 44.9

64.8 ± 46.0

67.6 ± 43.5

64.2 ± 44.9

 Vitamin E, per 1000 kcal/day

6.1 ± 26.9

7.4 ± 32.6

3.3 ± 3.5

5.0 ± 23.9

 Folate, per 1000 kcal/day

54.4 ± 37.8

59.6 ± 45.4

66.1 ± 49.1

59.4 ± 44.0**

 Sodium, per 100 kcal/day

860.8 ± 590.1

865.7 ± 553.7

875.0 ± 542.2

866.5 ± 564.3

 Potassium, per 1000 kcal/day

905.8 ± 257.5

904.5 ± 259.2

919.2 ± 284.8

909.2 ± 265.9

 Calcium, per 1000 kcal/day

315.4 ± 137.8

333.9 ± 182.5

333.2 + 159.2

328.3 ± 161.7

 Iron, per 1000 kcal/day

8.1 ± 2.7

8.0 ± 2.4

8.5 ± 2.8

8.2 ± 2.7

 Calorie restriction

  No

123 (38.4)

143 (39.1)

179 (41.9)

719 (66.8)

  Yes

197 (61.6)

223 (33.4)

170 (41.6)

248 (58.1)

 Fresh fruits intake (days/week)

2.8 ± 2.2

3.1 ± 2.3

4.0 ± 2.4

3.2 ± 2.3***

 Ulam intake per week  (days/week)

5.1 ± 2.3

5.5 ± 2.1

5.7 ± 2.1

5.4 ± 2.2***

Psychosocial

 Disability

10.1 ± 10.3

9.9 ± 11.6

6.6 ± 9.4

8.9 ± 10.6

 Loneliness

3.3 ± 0.9

3.3 ± 0.9

3.2 ± 0.7

3.3 ± 0.9

 Depression

3.1 ± 2.3

2.5 ± 2.1

2.5 ± 2.0

2.7 ± 2.2***

Cognitive Function

 Digit span

6.5 ± 1.9

7.2 ± 2.0

7.6 ± 2.4

7.0 ± 2.2***

 Digit symbol

3.5 ± 1.4

4.1 ± 1.7

4.9 ± 2.3

4.1 ± 1.9***

 MMSE

20.0 ± 4.9

22.7 ± 4.5

23.7 ± 4.5

22.0 ± 4.9***

 Percentile VRI

29.1 ± 28.7

38.1 ± 31.5

43.4 ± 32.2

36.2 ± 31.3***

 Percentile VR II

17.1 ± 23.8

28.3 ± 31.7

35.9 ± 35.0

26.3 ± 31.0***

Physical Fitness

 2 min step test, number

54.0 ± 24.9

58.7 ± 25.8

63.9 ± 24.0

58.4 ± 25.3***

 Grip strength, kg

20.7 ± 7.4

23.6 ± 7.7

24.1 ± 8.0

22.6 ± 7.8***

 Chair stand test, number

8.6 ± 2.9

9.5 ± 2.9

10.0 ± 3.0

9.3 ± 3.0***

 Chair sit and reach, cm

−0.30 ± 12.1

−2.0 ± 10.9

−0.3 ± 10.9

−0.8 ± 11.4

 TUG, seconds

12.8 ± 4.0

11.4 ± 3.1

11.4 ± 2.9

12.0 ± 3.5***

 Back scratch test, cm

17.0 ± 12.2

15.9 ± 12.6

16.5 ± 12.8

16.5 ± 12.5

  1. Abbreviation: TUG Timed up and go test, MUAC Mid upper arm circumference, MMSE Mini Mental State Examination, RAVLT Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test
  2. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01;***p < 0.001