Health disparities in Europe’s ageing population: the role of social network

Figures & data

Table 1. Distribution (%) of characteristics of the participants by country and sex.

Men (n = 23,943)	North EU	West and Central EU	East EU	South EU	Total
Age in years
50–59	24.7	30.8	30.4	25.7	29.4
60–69	36.7	35.3	36.4	34.3	35.6
70–79	25.7	23.4	23.9	28.2	24.5
80–89	11.5	9.7	8.9	10.7	9.7
90 and more	1.5	0.8	0.4	1.1	0.8
Education (ISCED)
0 (Low)	0.05	2.3	0.58	6.9	2.3
1	18.6	12.8	7.5	42.4	16.2
2	9.7	12.5	24.8	20.8	17.8
3	35.1	39.8	42.7	15.2	36.5
4	3.7	4.4	6.4	1.0	4.5
5	32.9	26.5	17.4	12.6	21.7
6 (High)	0	1.7	0.5	1.1	1.1
Self-rated health
Good or very good	76	71	46	57	60
Poor	24	29	54	43	40
Social network
Size in scale 0–7 (Mean±sd)	2.3 ± 1.5	2.5 ± 1.6	2.0 ± 1.3	2.3 ± 1.5	2.3 ± 1.5
Satisfaction in scale 0–10 (Mean±sd)	9.1 ± 1.3	8.6 ± 1.4	8.7 ± 1.6	8.8 ± 1.5	8.8 ± 1.5
Women (n = 30,808)
Age in years
50–59	25.7	32.1	29.7	29.6	30.4
60–69	36.2	32.8	34.1	33.5	33.6
70–79	23.3	22.1	24.6	24.4	23.4
80–89	12.4	11.5	10.7	11.1	11.2
90 and more	2.3	1.6	0.9	1.5	1.4
Education (ISCED)
0 (Low)	0.09	3.2	0.9	9.9	3.2
1	20	17.7	13.6	47.9	21.0
2	13.1	19.3	24.6	18.0	20.6
3	26.2	35.8	37.5	11.5	32.1
4	4.4	2.8	8.4	1.4	4.7
5	36.3	20.2	14.7	10.9	17.9
6 (High)	0	1.0	0.3	0.4	0.6
Self-rated health
Good or very good	72	68	42	49	56
Poor	28	32	58	51	44
Social network
Size in scale 0–7 (Mean±sd)	2.9 ± 1.6	2.9 ± 1.7	2.4 ± 1.5	2.5 ± 1.5	2.6 ± 1.6
Satisfaction in scale 0–10 (Mean±sd)	9.2 ± 1.3	8.8 ± 1.3	8.8 ± 1.6	8.9 ± 1.4	8.8 ± 1.4

Table 2. Percentage (%) of poor SRH within categories of sociodemographic characteristics and social network, by country and gender.

Men	West and Central EU	North EU	South EU	East EU	Total
Age in years
50–59	23***	16***	26***	43***	30***
60–69	25	19	41	51	36
70–79	34	29	50	66	47
80–89	48	42	64	75	59
90 and more	59	48	71	76	64
Education (ISCED)
0 (Low)	54***	-	62***	66***	59***
1	46	39***	52	66	52
2	34	31	35	64	48
3	29	22	26	50	36
4	14	19	28	61	38
5	19	16	35	43	27
6 (High)	25	-	25	45	28
Social network: size
Small	32.5***	24.0	43.0	53.1	42.0***
Extended	27.5	24.0	42	55.7	38.0
Social network: Satisfaction
Low	30.9***	25.1	44.9	57.6***	40.8**
High	27.8	23.1	41.6	52.7	38.7
Women
Age in years
50–59	23***	19***	35***	44***	32***
60–69	26	23	46	52	38
70–79	39	33	64	72	55
80–89	51	47	76	80	64
90 and more	52	52	69	82	62
Education (ISCED)
0 (Low)	61***	-	77***	67***	69***
1	47	41***	59	69	56
2	34	38	40	69	50
3	27	28	29	52	38
4	15	32	36	61	46
5	22	17	38	41	28
6 (High)	19	-	26	44	25
Social network: size ^b
Small	35.5***	31.2*	55.4***	56.9	44.2
Extended	28.4	25.8	49.8	58.3	43.7
Social network: satisfaction ^b
Low	32.9**	31.0*	54*	60.4***	44.8*
High	30.7	26.3	50	56.6	43.5

Note: b Size and satisfaction of the social network are dichotomized by median within each country subgroup

*p < 0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p < 0.001

Table 3. Predicted probability of poor SRH, by country group.

Men	West and central EU	North EU	South	East	Total
Model 1
Relative Educational position	0.2835***	0.2245***	0.2629***	0.2349***	0.2598***
Model 2
Relative Educational position	0.2818***	0.2252***	0.2648***	0.2332***	0.2594***
Social network satisfaction	−0.026**	−0.031	−0.0323	−0.0500***	−0.020***
Women
Model 1
Relative Educational position	0.2614***	0.2323***	0.3364***	0.2125***	0.2497***
Model 2
Relative Educational position	0.2612***	0.2365***	0.3411***	0.2135***	0.2504***
Social network satisfaction	−0.025**	−0.052**	−0.038**	−0.035***	−0.0146**

*p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001

Model 1. Adjusted for age.

Model 2. Adjusted for age+ social network satisfaction.

Figure 1. Probabilities of poor SRH by satisfaction with the social network among males in different country groups. **p < 0.01 for the interaction effect.

Figure 2. Probabilities of poor SRH by satisfaction with the social network among females in different country groups. **p < 0.01 for the interaction effect.