Demographic, behavioural and socio-economic influences on the survival of retired people--evidence from a ten year follow up study of the General Household Survey, 1994
Johnson, B.; Langford, A.
Health Statistics Quarterly 44: 27-34
2009
ISSN/ISBN: 1465-1645 PMID: 19994750 DOI: 10.1057/hsq.2009.36Document Number: 309442
This article reports on a longitudinal analysis of a sample of residents who were aged 65 or over when interviewed for the 1994 General Household Survey. It investigates the associations between various personal characteristics as established at the interview and the probability of survival during a ten year follow-up period. Smoking was the most important factor of those measured in determining the likelihood of survival. Smokers at the time of the interview had a mortality risk, on average, 78 per cent greater than non-smokers. Non-drinkers and those who had less than one unit of alcohol per week at the time of the interview appeared to have a higher mortality risk than those who drank between one unit and the recommended government maximum per week. However, further analysis suggested that this result might be a product of the health status of individuals at the time of the interview. Type of housing tenure and region of residence were better predictors of mortality risk than occupation-based social class.