Table 2 Characteristics of the sample by gender (numbers, percentages, means, and 95% confidence intervals)
|  | Men (n = 15,140) | Women (n = 18,112) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
n (%) | n (%) | ||
MHI-5 (cut-off <=52 points) | 1321 (8.8) | 1984 (11.0) | < 0.0001 |
MHI-5 mean (95% CI) | 75.8 (75.6–76.1) | 74.4 (74.1–74.6) |  |
Age (years) | |||
 20–34 | 3496 (28.7) | 3852 (24.5) | < 0.0001 |
 35–49 | 5834 (39.7) | 6791 (38.2) |  |
 50–65 | 6322 (31.6) | 8087 (37.4) |  |
Age (mean) | 42.4 (42.2–42.6) | 43.9 (43.7–44.0) |  |
Education (years) | |||
 < = 12 | 6224 (43.0) | 4793 (26.9) | < 0.0001 |
 13–16 | 5367 (33.6) | 8089 (43.4) |  |
 17+ | 4061 (23.4) | 5849 (29.7) |  |
Marital status | |||
 Married/cohabiting | 12,016 (76.1) | 13,495 (72.9) | < 0.0001 |
 Separated/divorced/widowed | 1017 (6.7) | 2255 (12.3) |  |
 Single | 2105 (17.2) | 2360 (14.8) |  |
Lives alone | |||
 Yes | 2011 (14.5) | 2703 (14.9) | 0.263 |
 No | 13,641 (85.5) | 16,028 (85.1) |  |
Has children under 18 years of age | |||
 < 3 years old | 1605 (21.9) | 840 (9.7) | < 0.0001 |
 3 to 6 years old | 2032 (26.2) | 1903 (20.2) | < 0.0001 |
 7 to 17 years old | 4459 (44.8) | 5277 (44.2) | 0.373 |
At-risk drinking (AUDIT-C)a | 5678 (37.5) | 4087 (22.8) | < 0.0001 |
Current smoker | 2350 (25.6) | 2346 (23.0) | < 0.0001 |
Loneliness | |||
 Never/seldom/sometimes | 14,424 (94.1) | 16,988 (92.7) | < 0.0001 |
 Quite often/all the time | 810 (5.9) | 1273 (7.3) |  |
Active member in societies, hobby groups, etc. | 4609 (28.9) | 5318 (28.1) | 0.0962 |
Difficulty in covering household costs | 3583 (25.2) | 4567 (26.5) | 0.011 |
How many persons give you practical help? | |||
 No one | 217 (1.6) | 201 (1.2) | 6.64 |
 1–2 persons | 8303 (54.4) | 9697 (53.5) | 0.0013 |
 3–6 persons | 6412 (43.0) | 7957 (45.3) |  |
How many persons give you emotional support? | |||
 No one | 150 (1.1) | 146 (0.8) | < 0.0001 |
 1–2 persons | 9725 (63.8) | 9639 (53.4) |  |
 3–6 persons | 5096 (35.1) | 8108 (45.8) |  |
Helping someone outside the household regularly, at least once a month | |||
 Parent | 4629 (41.3) | 5846 (44.3) | < 0.0001 |
 Child | 3204 (28.6) | 4691 (36.6) | < 0.0001 |
 Other | 3394 (32.5) | 4921 (39.3) | < 0.0001 |
Work satisfaction | |||
 Extremely satisfied | 2889 (18.6) | 3883 (20.9) | < 0.0001 |
 Fairly satisfied | 8664 (56.0) | 10,420 (56.6) |  |
 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 2508 (16.8) | 2547 (14.2) |  |
 Fairly - extremely dissatisfied | 1233 (8.6) | 1431 (8.2) |  |
Mental strain of work | |||
 Low | 2359 (16.7) | 2202 (12.9) | < 0.0001 |
 Moderate | 10,624 (69.2) | 13,118 (72.0) |  |
 High | 2089 (14.0) | 2708 (15.1) |  |
Physical strain of work | |||
 Low | 7796 (47.8) | 9710 (52.1) | < 0.0001 |
 Moderate | 6299 (44.0) | 7121 (40.9) |  |
 High | 1080 (8.2) | 1142 (7.0) |  |
When I come home, I stop thinking about my work b | 8147 (55.4) | 10,709 (59.6) | < 0.0001 |
I feel I am neglecting domestic issues because of my workb | 5502 (36.2) | 7126 (39.2) | < 0.0001 |
I sometimes ignore my family when I am wholly absorbed in my workb | 4290 (27.1) | 4512 (24.1) | < 0.0001 |
I often find it difficult to concentrate on my work because of domestic issuesb | 1575 (10.9) | 1718 (10.1) | 0.020 |
I have more energy to be with the children when I also go to workb | 5419 (34.9) | 6159 (34.5) | 0.428 |
I feel inadequacy as a parentb | 2324 (15.1) | 3538 (20.0) | < 0.0001 |