Table 1

Characteristics of study participants

	Sex (%)		Age group (%)				Highest education level (%)				Employment status in last week (%)
Year	M	F	25–34	35–44	45–54	55–64	Degree	A-level	GCSE	None	Employed	Unemployed	Not working due to ill health	Retired	Looking after home	In education	Sample	Response rate (%)
1991	46.7	53.3	29.8	27.5	21.8	20.8	11.8	18.7	33.4	36.0	71.9	5.5	4.5	4.5	13.1	0.5	2001	85
1992	47.3	52.7	29.2	28.4	22.6	19.8	11.8	22.0	35.6	30.6	69.3	6.1	4.4	6.1	13.0	1.1	2484	82
1993	47.5	52.5	29.7	26.6	24.3	19.4	12.8	21.7	33.3	32.2	70.9	6.3	4.3	5.5	12.4	0.6	10502	81
1994	46.7	53.3	30.2	27.3	23.1	19.5	13.0	21.9	34.4	30.7	70.9	5.5	4.5	5.8	12.4	1.0	9981	77
1997	47.2	52.8	29.1	27.4	25.0	18.5	16.4	24.8	31.2	27.6	71.7	3.3	6.4	4.8	12.8	1.1	5377	76
1998	46.6	53.4	28.4	27.5	25.2	18.9	16.6	24.1	33.0	26.3	73.4	2.0	6.1	5.4	11.6	1.4	9748	74
1999	46.9	53.1	26.5	29.0	25.6	18.9	18.0	25.0	31.1	26.0	72.3	2.3	6.6	5.1	12.3	1.4	4750	76
2000	45.8	54.2	26.8	30.3	23.3	19.6	18.9	27.3	31.0	22.8	72.3	2.1	6.6	5.8	11.6	1.6	4982	75
2001	45.7	54.3	24.9	29.6	25.3	20.2	19.6	26.1	32.6	21.6	73.3	2.0	6.4	6.2	10.3	1.7	9457	74
2002	43.4	56.6	25.7	31.8	22.7	19.8	21.0	27.9	32.7	18.5	71.4	2.1	5.6	6.0	13.6	1.4	4619	74
2003	45.4	54.6	23.3	29.7	23.8	23.2	21.8	25.8	32.5	19.8	74.6	1.6	6.1	6.3	10.2	1.4	8982	73
2004	43.4	56.6	22.5	29.2	23.6	24.8	23.0	25.7	29.8	21.5	73.0	1.4	5.9	7.4	10.7	1.6	4076	72
2005	44.8	55.2	22.5	26.6	26.5	24.4	23.6	25.9	30.1	20.5	73.8	1.7	6.3	6.2	10.6	1.4	4590	74
2006	44.7	55.3	21.2	28.8	24.9	25.2	25.5	26.8	29.2	18.5	73.9	1.8	5.9	6.8	10.3	1.3	8605	68
2008	44.7	55.3	22.0	27.5	25.2	25.3	25.6	28.0	28.7	17.7	74.0	2.1	5.4	7.4	9.6	1.6	9228	64
2009	45.6	54.4	21.7	28.8	25.0	24.6	26.4	25.6	30.9	17.0	73.4	3.1	5.5	7.4	9.0	1.7	2773	68
2010	43.5	56.5	21.3	26.5	27.6	24.6	28.2	28.3	29.7	13.9	73.1	3.1	5.8	7.4	9.0	1.6	4830	66