Table 1 General characteristics of the study population (2006 → 2008 baseline year).

From: Association between changes in working status and hand-grip strength among Korean middle-aged and older adults: a longitudinal panel study

Variables	Men (N = 2106)							Women (N = 1737)
	Hand-grip strength (HGS)^a							Hand-grip strength (HGS)^a
	Total		Normal		Low		P-value	Total		Normal		Low		P-value
	N	%	N	%	N	%	P-value	N	%	N	%	N	%	P-value
Changes in working status							< 0.0001							< 0.0001
Working → working	1412	67.0	1243	88.0	169	12.0		610	29.0	530	86.9	80	13.1
Working → non-working	124	5.9	94	75.8	30	24.2		87	4.1	72	82.8	15	17.2
Non-working → working	84	4.0	71	84.5	13	15.5		144	6.8	112	77.8	32	22.2
Non-working → non-working	486	23.1	332	68.3	154	31.7		896	42.5	621	69.3	275	30.7
Age							< 0.0001							< 0.0001
45–59	1062	50.4	978	92.1	84	7.9		787	37.4	711	90.3	76	9.7
60–69	658	31.2	533	81.0	125	19.0		590	28.0	440	74.6	150	25.4
70–79	332	15.8	204	61.4	128	38.6		321	15.2	171	53.3	150	46.7
80 or older	54	2.6	25	46.3	29	53.7		39	1.9	13	33.3	26	66.7
Marital status							0.032							< 0.0001
Married	1969	93.5	1636	83.1	333	16.9		1248	59.3	996	79.8	252	20.2
Unmarried or being separately	137	6.5	104	75.9	33	24.1		489	23.2	339	69.3	150	30.7
Region							0.434							0.906
Urban	925	43.9	771	83.4	154	16.6		769	36.5	590	76.7	179	23.3
Rural	1181	56.1	969	82.0	212	18.0		968	46.0	745	77.0	223	23.0
Highest level of education							< 0.0001							< 0.0001
Middle school or below	880	41.8	659	74.9	221	25.1		1272	60.4	936	73.6	336	26.4
High school	823	39.1	725	88.1	98	11.9		390	18.5	331	84.9	59	15.1
College and above	403	19.1	356	88.3	47	11.7		75	3.6	68	90.7	7	9.3
Personal income level							< 0.0001							< 0.0001
Tertile 1 (low)	671	31.9	479	71.4	192	28.6		579	27.5	424	73.2	155	26.8
Tertile 2	721	34.2	618	85.7	103	14.3		598	28.4	433	72.4	165	27.6
Tertile 3 (high)	714	33.9	643	90.1	71	9.9		560	26.6	478	85.4	82	14.6
Satisfaction with health status							< 0.0001							< 0.0001
Dissatisfied	189	9.0	131	69.3	58	30.7		241	11.4	151	62.7	90	37.3
Average	1265	60.1	1018	80.5	247	19.5		1143	54.3	889	77.8	254	22.2
Satisfied	652	31.0	591	90.6	61	9.4		353	16.8	295	83.6	58	16.4
BMI^b							0.001							0.440
Underweight	34	1.6	21	61.8	13	38.2		41	1.9	28	68.3	13	31.7
Normal	1620	76.9	1323	81.7	297	18.3		1250	59.4	962	77.0	288	23.0
Overweight	452	21.5	396	87.6	56	12.4		446	21.2	345	77.4	101	22.6
ADL Index^c							0.006							0.001
0 (Normal)	2096	99.5	1735	82.8	361	17.2		1724	81.9	1330	77.1	394	22.9
1 (Need help)	10	0.5	5	50.0	5	50.0		13	0.6	5	38.5	8	61.5
IADL Index^c							0.001							< 0.0001
0 (Normal)	1904	90.4	1590	83.5	314	16.5		1677	79.6	1302	77.6	375	22.4
1 (Need help)	202	9.6	150	74.3	52	25.7		60	2.8	33	55.0	27	45.0
Cognitive function^d							< 0.0001							< 0.0001
Normal	1916	91.0	1627	84.9	289	15.1		1335	63.4	1115	83.5	220	16.5
Impairment	190	9.0	113	59.5	77	40.5		402	19.1	220	54.7	182	45.3
Regular physical exercise							< 0.0001							0.080
Yes	893	42.4	773	86.6	120	13.4		630	29.9	499	79.2	131	20.8
No	1213	57.6	967	79.7	246	20.3		1107	52.6	836	75.5	271	24.5

BMI, Body Mass Index; ADL, Activities of Daily Living; IADL,Instrumental Activities of Daily Living.
^aAs defined by AWGS (Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia), cut-off points of hand-grip strength were 28 kg for men and 18 kg for women.
^bUnderweight (BMI of less than 18.5 kg/m²), Normal (BMI of 18.5–24.9 kg/m²), Overweight (BMI of 25 kg/m² or over).
^c0 point (If they do not need any help), 1 point (If they need some help, or if they need help altogether).
^dNormal (MMSE score of 24 points or more), Impairment (MMSE score of 23 points or less).

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Table 1 General characteristics of the study population (2006 → 2008 baseline year).

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