Table 1 Descriptive statistics of successive cohorts of older workers, N = 1307
|  | Cohort 1: 1992/1993 (N = 274) | Cohort 2: 2002/2003 (N = 416) | Cohort 3: 2012/2013 (N = 617) | P-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% of total cohort |  | 29% | 42% | 62% | < 0.001 |
Basic demographics | |||||
 Sex | Males | 174 (64%) | 253 (61%) | 336 (54%) | 0.019 |
Females | 100 (36%) | 163 (39%) | 281 (46%) | Â | |
 Age | Mean | 58.9 (2.7) | 58.6 (2.6) | 59.4 (2.6) | < 0.001 |
Working conditions | |||||
 Physical demands | Mean score (0–4) | 2.1 (1.6) | 1.7 (1.6) | 1.4 (1.6) | < 0.001 |
 Psychosocial demands | Mean score (0–6) | 1.1 (1.9) | 1.5 (2.0) | 2.0 (2.1) | < 0.001 |
 Psychosocial resources | Mean score (0–4) | 1.1 (1.3) | 1.5 (1.4) | 1.8 (1.5) | < 0.001 |
 Occupational sector | Administrative/commercial | 74 (27%) | 110 (27%) | 142 (23%) | < 0.001 |
General | 20 (7%) | 26 (6%) | 43 (7%) | Â | |
Pedagogical | 19 (7%) | 34 (8%) | 68 (11%) | Â | |
Agricultural | 27 (10%) | 20 (5%) | 18 (3%) | Â | |
Natural science | 0 (0%) | 1 (0%) | 23 (4%) | Â | |
Technical | 53 (19%) | 91 (22%) | 81 (13%) | Â | |
Transport | 11 (4%) | 19 (5%) | 40 (6%) | Â | |
(Para)medical | 11 (4%) | 19 (5%) | 46 (7%) | Â | |
Juridical/security | 6 (2%) | 15 (4%) | 26 (4%) | Â | |
Cultural/linguistic | 4 (2%) | 12 (3%) | 28 (5%) | Â | |
Social science | 9 (3%) | 18 (4%) | 20 (3%) | Â | |
Care services | 34 (12%) | 44 (11%) | 58 (9%) | Â | |
Management | 5 (2%) | 6 (1%) | 23 (4%) | Â | |
Covariates | |||||
 Education | Low | 153 (56%) | 204 (49%) | 225 (36%) |  |
Intermediate | 65 (24%) | 81 (19%) | 164 (27%) | < 0.001 | |
High | 56 (20%) | 131 (31%) | 228 (37%) | Â | |
 Partner status | No partner | 47 (17%) | 70 (17%) | 102 (17%) |  |
Partner | 227 (83%) | 346 (83%) | 515 (83%) | 0.973 | |
 Working hours per week | Mean (range 1–80) | 32.7 (18) | 30.3 (16) | 31.1 (14) | 0.094 |
 Self-reported chronic diseases | 0 | 125 (46%) | 144 (35%) | 169 (27%) |  |
1 | 92 (34%) | 150 (36%) | 203 (33%) | < 0.001 | |
>  1 | 57 (21%) | 122 (29%) | 245 (40%) |  | |
 Mastery | Mean | 18.7 (3.0) | 18.9 (3.0) | 19.1 (3.0) | 0.141 |
 Alcohol use | Does not drink | 23 (8%) | 22 (5%) | 60 (10%) |  |
Non-excessive | 224 (82%) | 335 (81%) | 503 (82%) | 0.009 | |
(Very) excessive | 27 (10%) | 59 (14%) | 54 (9%) | Â | |
 Smoking | Never smoked | 58 (21%) | 86 (21%) | 163 (26%) |  |
Smoked ≥15 years ago | 61 (22%) | 130 (31%) | 248 (40%) | < 0.001 | |
Smoked < 15 years ago | 61 (22%) | 68 (16%) | 101 (24%) |  | |
Currently smoking | 94 (34%) | 132 (32%) | 105 (17%) | Â | |
 BMI | Normal (<  25) | 98 (36%) | 124 (30%) | 217 (35%) |  |
Overweight (25–30) | 144 (53%) | 203 (49%) | 265 (43%) | 0.003 | |
Obesity (≥ 30) | 32 (12%) | 89 (21%) | 135 (22%) |  | |
 Physical activity | Mean (min/day) | 147 (120) | 133 (106) | 132 (104) | 0.138b |