Mean number of symptoms in the previous 2 weeks by participant characteristics
| All participants (n = 2474) | Chronic condition (n = 1098a) | No chronic condition (n = 1323) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | P-valueb | Mean | P-valueb | Mean | P-valueb | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 3.31 | 4.19 | 2.51 | |||
| Female | 3.89 | <0.001 | 5.00 | <0.001 | 3.03 | 0.001 |
| Age group, years | ||||||
| 18–24 | 4.53 | 5.40 | 4.12 | |||
| 25–34 | 3.69 | 5.17 | 3.02 | |||
| 35–44 | 3.47 | 4.56 | 2.91 | |||
| 45–54 | 3.58 | 4.74 | 2.33 | |||
| 55–60 | 3.64 | 0.004 | 4.34 | 0.119 | 2.30 | <0.001 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Single | 4.11 | 5.27 | 3.44 | |||
| Married/living together | 3.45 | 4.40 | 2.65 | |||
| No longer married | 4.64 | <0.001 | 5.57 | <0.001 | 3.11 | <0.001 |
| Level of social support | ||||||
| Low | 5.00 | 6.16 | 3.29 | |||
| Medium | 3.78 | 4.91 | 2.70 | |||
| High | 3.48 | <0.001 | 4.32 | <0.001 | 2.85 | 0.342 |
| Number of children | ||||||
| 0 | 3.84 | 4.95 | 3.18 | |||
| 1 | 3.75 | 4.45 | 3.06 | |||
| 2 | 3.36 | 4.38 | 2.41 | |||
| ≥3 | 3.93 | 0.009 | 5.03 | 0.896 | 2.78 | 0.001 |
| Level of education | ||||||
| No formal qualifications | 4.71 | 5.71 | 2.73 | |||
| Secondary school or equivalent | 3.79 | 4.82 | 2.93 | |||
| Higher education | 3.28 | <0.001 | 4.05 | <0.001 | 2.75 | 0.540 |
| Housing tenure | ||||||
| Owned/mortgaged | 3.43 | 4.29 | 2.73 | |||
| Privately rented and other | 4.29 | 5.62 | 3.35 | |||
| Council/housing association/rented | 5.55 | <0.001 | 6.81 | <0.001 | 3.51 | 0.011 |
| Employment status | ||||||
| Full time | 3.28 | 3.98 | 2.74 | |||
| Part time | 3.49 | 4.72 | 2.65 | |||
| Self-employed | 3.08 | 3.74 | 2.53 | |||
| Cannot work due to illness | 7.29 | 7.46 | 5.88 | |||
| Others without paid work | 4.49 | <0.001 | 5.65 | <0.001 | 3.38 | 0.001 |
| Household income, £ | ||||||
| <15 000 | 5.33 | 6.24 | 3.88 | |||
| 15 000–29 999 | 3.93 | 4.99 | 2.95 | |||
| 30 000–49 999 | 3.18 | 3.93 | 2.59 | |||
| ≥50 000 | 3.07 | <0.001 | 3.80 | <0.001 | 2.64 | <0.001 |
| Ethnic group | ||||||
| White | 3.66 | 4.66 | 2.81 | |||
| Other | 3.92 | 0.550 | 4.80 | 0.857 | 3.34 | 0.270 |
| Smoking status | ||||||
| Never smoked | 3.38 | 4.41 | 2.67 | |||
| Ex-smoker | 3.57 | 4.23 | 2.88 | |||
| Current smoker | 4.56 | <0.001 | 5.74 | <0.001 | 3.31 | 0.014 |
| Overall | 3.66 | 4.66 | 2.83 | |||
↵a Total numbers for those with and without a chronic condition does not add up to full sample due to missing data on presence of a chronic condition.
↵b P-value based on t-tests (sex and ethnic group) and analysis of variance (age group, marital status, level of social support, number of children, level of education, housing tenure, employment status, annual household income, and smoking status). Bold indicates a significant difference at the 1% significance level.