Characteristics of the subjects
| All subjects (n=1307) | Disability retirees (n=790) | Working men/old age retirees (n=517) | p value for difference between groups | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are either percentages or means (standard deviations). | ||||
| *Cardiovascular diseases include coronary heart disease, cardiac insufficiency, hypertension, claudication and stroke. | ||||
| †Musculoskeletal disorders include back problems and osteoarthritis. | ||||
| ‡Mental disorders include those diagnosed by doctor or severe psychic illnesses that required hospitalisation. | ||||
| §Other chronic diseases include chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, farmer’s lung or other pneumoconiosis, lung tuberculosis, diabetes, epilepsy, thyroid illnesses, liver or pancreatic diseases, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. | ||||
| ¶Other reasons include respiratory, metabolic, dermatological, digestive tract, eye and ear diseases, injuries, cancers, malformations, and non-classifiable diseases. | ||||
| Age (years) | 51.3 (5.2) | 52.5 (4.0) | 49.4 (6.2) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.7 (3.4) | 26.9 (3.5) | 26.5 (3.1) | 0.022 |
| Alcohol consumption (g/week) | 74.2 (110.4) | 74.4 (113.6) | 74.0 (105.5) | 0.948 |
| Smoking (cigarettes/day) | 5.5 (10.0) | 5.6 (9.9) | 5.2 (10.0) | 0.404 |
| Maximal oxygen uptake (ml/kg/min) | 31.8 (7.5) | 30.3 (7.3) | 34.0 (7.4) | <0.001 |
| Duration of exercise test (min) | 11.5 (2.5) | 11.0 (2.4) | 12.4 (2.4) | <0.001 |
| Education | ||||
| High school or above (n=120) | 9.2% | 5.7% | 14.5% | <0.000 |
| Middle school (n=510) | 39.1% | 36.6% | 42.8% | |
| Elementary school or less (n=676) | 51.8% | 57.7% | 42.6% | |
| Occupation | ||||
| Farmer (n=225) | 17.5% | 19.1% | 15,1% | <0.001 |
| Blue collar worker (n=467) | 36.3% | 39.7% | 31,2% | |
| White collar worker (n=593) | 46.1% | 41.2% | 53,6% | |
| Diseases/disorders at baseline | ||||
| Cardiovascular diseases* (n=653) | 50.0% | 58.1% | 37.5% | <0.001 |
| Musculoskeletal disorders† (n=566) | 43.3% | 49.1% | 34.4% | <0.001 |
| Mental disorders‡ (n=49) | 3.7% | 4.3% | 2.9% | 0.192 |
| Other chronic diseases§ (n=431) | <0.001 | |||
| Reasons for disability pension | ||||
| Any reason (n=790) | 60.4% | 100% | 0.0% | |
| Cardiovascular diseases (n=219) | 16.8% | 27.7% | 0.0% | |
| Musculoskeletal disorders (n=312) | 23.9% | 39.5% | 0.0% | |
| Mental disorders (n=108) | 8.3% | 13.7% | 0.0% | |
| Other reasons¶ (n=151) | 11.6% | 19.1% | 0.0% | |