Table 1

Descriptive statistics and the mean number of risk factors by sociodemographic variables and Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI)


Women (N = 28,894)
Men (N = 7233)




N (%)
Mean number of risk factors (SD)
N (%)
Mean number of risk factors (SD)

Age group (yr)




     17 to 34
4913 (17)
0.7 (0.8)
1181 (16)
1.0 (0.9)
     35 to 50
14,878 (51)
0.9 (0.9)
3543 (49)
1.2 (0.9)
     51 to 64
9103 (32)
1.0 (0.9)
2509 (35)
1.3 (0.9)


p < 0.001

p < 0.001





Marital status




     Married or cohabiting
21,506 (75)
0.9 (0.8)
5834 (81)
1.2 (0.9)
     Single, divorced or widowed
7311 (25)
0.9 (0.9)
1399 (19)
1.3 (1.0)


p < 0.001

p < 0.001





Socioeconomic position




     Manual
3579 (12)
1.1 (0.9)
2404 (33)
1.4 (0.9)
     Lower non-manual
17,119 (59)
0.9 (0.8)
2057 (28)
1.2 (0.9)
     Upper non-manual
8196 (28)
0.8 (0.8)
2767 (38)
1.0 (0.9)


p < 0.001

p < 0.001





Type of job contract




     Permanent
23,833 (83)
0.9 (0.9)
6282 (87)
1.2 (0.9)
     Fixed term
5061 (18)
0.8 (0.8)
951 (13)
1.0 (0.9)


p < 0.001

p < 0.001





Effort-Reward Imbalance (ecological score)




     Low
9291 (32)
0.8 (0.8)
2826 (39)
1.1 (0.9)
     Intermediate
10,202 (35)
0.8 (0.8)
2059 (28)
1.2 (0.9)
     High
9710 (33)
1.0 (0.9)
2417 (33)
1.4 (0.9)


p < 0.001

p < 0.001





Effort-Reward Imbalance (individual score)




     Low
9001 (31)
0.9 (0.8)
2657 (37)
1.2 (0.9)
     Intermediate
11,085 (38)
0.9 (0.8)
2429 (33)
1.2 (0.9)
     High
8758 (30)
0.9 (0.9)
2151 (30)
1.3 (1.0)


p < 0.001

p < 0.001





Lifestyle risk factors




     Current smoker
4978 (17)

1715 (24)

     Heavy drinker*
2210 (8)

890 (12)

     Physically inactive
7065 (25)

1950 (27)

     Body mass index ≥25 kg/m2
11,454 (40)

4252 (59)






No. of risk factors




     Zero
10,958 (38)

1731 (24)

     One
11,437 (40)

2918 (40)

     Two
5323 (19)

19537(27)

     Three or four
1176 (4)

647 (9)


Only participants with no missing data in any of the variables were included. (In analyses for the individual level ERI score, N = 28,544 for women and N = 7170 for men.)

SD, standard deviation

p values from Chi Square test.

*Average weekly consumption ≥190 g of absolute alcohol for women and >275 g for men.

< 2 MET hours.

Kouvonen et al. BMC Public Health 2006 6:24   doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-24