Table 2

Descriptive characteristics of the study population according to selected socio-demographic variables, National Health Interview Surveys, 1987-1994.

Characteristic
Number (%*)
Number (%*)
Estimated size of total
Estimated percentage of total
Univariate

of subjects
reporting
population reporting
population reporting
prevalence odds


complication of
complication of
complication of medical care
ratio (95%)


medical care
medical care
(95% confidence interval)†
confidence interval†

Sex





     Male
133,533 (42.61)
1,467 (39.22)
3,148,699
0.59 (0.55-0.62)
1.00
     Female
179,885 (57.39)
2,273 (60.78)
4,686,767
0.62 (0.59-0.65)
0.98 (0.91-1.05)
Age, y





     18-24
26,484 (8.45)
137 (3.66)
318,035
0.36 (0.30-0.42)
1.00
     25-34
54,177 (17.28)
437 (11.68)
964,060
0.52 (0.46-0.57)
1.48 (0.21-1.80)
     35-44
58,533 (18.67)
593 (15.86)
1,234,644
0.59 (0.54-0.64)
1.68 (1.37-2.05)
     45-54
47,343 (15.10)
582 (15.56)
1,202,700
0.64 (0.58-0.70)
1.77 (1.45-2.16)
     55-64
46,321 (14.78)
675 (18.05)
1,402,819
0.67 (0.61-0.73)
1.77 (1.46-2.14)
     65-74
46,266 (14.76)
774 (20.70)
1,577,256
0.70 (0.65-0.76)
1.80 (1.48-2.18)
     75 and older
34,314 (10.95)
542 (14.49)
1,135,952
0.63 (0.56-0.69)
1.58 (1.30-1.93)
Race





     White
264,759 (84.47)
3,248 (86.84)
6,964,509
0.62 (0.59-0.65)
1.00
     Black
40,936 (13.06)
416 (11.12)
681,855
0.49 (0.44-0.55)
0.78 (0.70-0.88)
     Other
7,743 (2.47)
76 (2.03)
189,102
0.60 (0.46-0.75)
0.98 (0.77-1.26)
Region





     Northeast
60,690 (19.36)
640 (17.11)
1,301,268
0.54 (0.49-0.60)
1.00
     Midwest
79,717 (25.43)
1,020 (27.27)
2,063,524
0.65 (0.59-0.70)
1.20 (1.06-1.37)
     South
107,068 (34.16)
1,325 (35.43)
2,844,560
0.62 (0.57-0.66)
1.14 (1.01-1.29)
     West
65,963 (21.04)
755 (20.19)
1,626,114
0.60 (0.55-0.65)
1.16 (1.02-1.31)
Education





     None
2,338 (0.75)
17 (0.46)
36,156
0.34 (0.17-0.50)
1.00
     Elementary
38,727 (12.48)
627 (16.86)
1,253,608
0.65 (0.59-0.71)
1.99 (1.20-3.31)
     Some high school
42,311 (13.63)
626 (16.83)
1,270,559
0.69 (0.63-0.75)
2.19 (1.31-3.65)
     High school graduate
113,582 (36.60)
1,304 (35.06)
2,753,220
0.61 (0.57-0.65)
1.95 (1.17-3.24)
     Some college
59,247 (19.09)
643 (17.29)
1,380,437
0.59 (0.54-0.64)
1.90 (1.14-3.17)
     College graduate
30,244 (9.75)
286 (7.69)
631,982
0.56 (0.49-0.63)
1.74 (1.04-2.92)
     Post-graduate
23,901 (7.70)
216 (5.81)
464,106
0.50 (0.44-0.57)
1.56 (0.93-2.63)
Annual family income,





× $1,000





     less than 5
14,133 (5.39)
209 (6.53)
399,542
0.59 (0.50-0.68)
1.00
     5-14
58,044 (22.12)
910 (28.42)
1,840,201
0.65 (0.60-0.70)
1.10 (0.92-1.31)
     15-24
54,733 (20.86)
760 (23.74)
1,593,795
0.70 (0.64-0.75)
1.19 (1.01-1.40)
     25-34
42,195 (16.08)
450 (14.05)
976,522
0.60 (0.54-0.65)
1.02 (0.85-1.22)
     35-44
30,964 (11.80)
310 (9.68)
676,843
0.59 (0.52-0.66)
1.00 (0.83-1.22)
     45 and over
62,295 (23.74)
563 (17.58)
1,225,607
0.54 (0.49-0.59)
0.91 (0.76-1.09)
Major activity





     Work
160,556 (51.22)
1,320 (35.29)
2,817,570
0.50 (0.47-0.54)
1.00
     Housekeeping
72,629 (23.17)
1,094 (29.25)
2,213,449
0.67 (0.63-0.71)
1.25 (1.14-1.36)
     School
12,911 (4.12)
94 (2.51)
219,536
0.48 (0.37-0.59)
0.95 (0.75-1.21)
     Other
67,342 (21.48)
1,232 (32.94)
2,584,911
0.73 (0.68-0.78)
1.40 (1.28-1.53)
Health status





     Excellent
63,171 (20.23)
397 (10.65)
864,061
0.45 (0.40-0.50)
1.00
     Very good
79,749 (25.54)
581 (15.59)
1,216,534
0.45 (0.41-0.49)
0.98 (0.86-1.13)
     Good
92,786 (29.71)
1,067 (28.64)
2,201,757
0.60 (0.56-0.64)
1.33 (1.17-1.50)
     Fair
51,499 (16.49)
938 (25.17)
1,949,144
0.72 (0.66-0.78)
1.57 (1.37-1.80)
     Poor
25,092 (8.03)
743 (19.94)
1,571,466
0.87 (0.80-0.94)
1.89 (1.64-2.17)

* Figures are percentages of the total characteristic. † Figures take into consideration sampling weights due to complex sampling methodology.

Villanueva and Anderson BMC Health Services Research 2001 1:2   doi:10.1186/1472-6963-1-2