Table 2

General characteristics of the study subjects at baseline (2006)

	N	Per cent	Per cent*
Type of insurance
Health insurance	13 349	93.57	96.38
Medical aid	918	6.43	3.62
Gender
Male	6502	45.57	46.96
Female	7765	54.43	53.04
Age, years
20–29	1859	13.03	15.07
30–39	2919	20.46	25.74
40–49	2583	18.10	21.11
50–59	2063	14.46	14.30
60–69	2492	17.47	13.35
≥70	2351	16.48	10.42
Residential region
Urban	6523	45.72	47.63
Rural	7744	54.28	52.37
Marital status
Married	9586	67.19	70.03
Single (including divorced, widowed, separation)	4681	32.81	29.97
Education level
≤Elementary	4475	31.37	35.26
Middle school	1638	11.48	33.73
High school	4304	30.17	10.42
≥College	3850	26.99	20.59
Number of household members
1–2	5500	38.55	29.16
3–4	7062	49.50	57.94
≥5	1705	11.95	12.90
Number of chronic diseases
0	9196	64.46	73.09
1	116	0.81	0.71
≥2	4955	34.73	26.21
Perceived health status
Good	8080	56.63	65.82
Average	1905	13.35	12.94
Bad	4282	30.01	21.24
economic activity status
Yes	6842	47.96	47.52
No (including housewife and students)	7425	52.04	52.48
Disability
Yes	1190	8.34	6.45
No	13 077	91.66	93.55
Total	14 267	100.00	100.00