Table 1 Characteristics of ELSA participants, stratified by frailty state, the first time each participant is measured

All

15,003

8393

5099

1511

Gender

 Men

6831

(45.5)

4253

(50.7)

1997

(39.2)

581

(38.5)

 Women

8172

(54.5)

4140

(49.3)

3102

(60.8)

930

(61.5)

Age

 50–54

4673

(31.1)

3248

(38.7)

1125

(22.1)

300

(19.9)

 55–59

2972

(19.8)

1908

(22.7)

820

(16.1)

244

(16.1)

 60–64

2098

(14.0)

1206

(14.4)

689

(13.5)

203

(13.4)

 65–69

1896

(12.6)

969

(11.5)

729

(14.3)

198

(13.1)

 70–74

1565

(10.4)

589

(7.0)

783

(15.4)

193

(12.8)

 75–79

960

(6.4)

303

(3.6)

500

(9.8)

157

(10.4)

 80–84

609

(4.1)

135

(1.6)

336

(6.6)

138

(9.1)

 85 + 

230

(1.5)

35

(0.4)

117

(2.3)

78

(5.2)

Deprivation quintile

 1st (most deprived)

2104

(14.0)

798

(9.5)

872

(17.1)

434

(28.7)

 2nd

2667

(17.8)

1338

(15.9)

991

(19.4)

338

(22.4)

 3rd

3099

(20.7)

1727

(20.6)

1087

(21.3)

285

(18.9)

 4th

3539

(23.6)

2151

(25.6)

1120

(22.0)

268

(17.7)

 5th (least deprived)

3590

(23.9)

2377

(28.3)

1027

(20.1)

186

(12.3)

Wealth quintile

 1st (least wealth)

3233

(22.0)

1374

(16.8)

1191

(23.7)

668

(44.8)

 2nd

2724

(18.5)

1289

(15.7)

1084

(21.6)

351

(23.5)

 3rd

2815

(19.1)

1608

(19.6)

972

(19.4)

235

(15.8)

 4th

2933

(19.9)

1819

(22.2)

956

(19.0)

158

(10.6)

 5th (most wealth)

3002

(20.4)

2106

(25.7)

816

(16.3)

80

(5.4)

Marital status

 Not married

4552

(30.3)

1995

(23.8)

1840

(36.1)

717

(47.5)

 Married

10,448

(69.7)

6396

(76.2)

3258

(63.9)

794

(52.5)

Educational attainment

  Less than high school (< 10 years)

5557

(37.0)

2380

(28.4)

2241

(43.9)

936

(61.9)

 High school (10–11 years)

2613

(17.4)

1604

(19.1)

841

(16.5)

168

(11.1)

  College or higher (≥ 12 years)

6833

(45.5)

4409

(52.5)

2017

(39.6)

407

(26.9)