Characteristics of the cohort with reference to physical activity levels
| Variable | Physical activity quartiles (no of sessions/week >20 min) | |||
| ⩽3.5 | 3.51–5.00 | 5.01–6.75 | >6.75 | |
| Age (years) | 50.7 (14.9) | 48.6 (14.7) | 41.9 (14.2) | 38.9 (13.5)* |
| Gender (% men) | 47.4 | 43.3 | 42.9 | 49.5 |
| Marital status (%) | ||||
| Married | 59.5 | 57.8 | 57.6 | 51.4* |
| Single/never married | 14.9 | 17.2 | 22.6 | 28.2* |
| Social economic group (%) | ||||
| Professional | 24.2 | 27.0 | 36.4 | 36.5* |
| Manual | 33.4 | 28.6 | 26.7 | 24.6* |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.0 (5.1) | 26.6 (4.8) | 26.2 (4.7) | 25.8 (3.9)* |
| GHQ-12 score | 1.9 (3.1) | 1.5 (2.7) | 1.3 (2.5) | 1.2 (2.4)* |
| Current smokers (%) | 38.8 | 35.6 | 26.5 | 25.2* |
| Long-standing illness (%) | 52.4 | 42.4 | 34.4 | 30.5* |
| Diabetes | 6.5 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 2.1* |
| Hypertension | 33.4 | 29.5 | 17.4 | 17.6* |
| CVD | 12.1 | 7.6 | 3.7 | 2.3* |
CVD, cardiovascular disease.
Data shown as mean (SD) values or percentages.
*p<0.001, difference between groups.