Table 1 Descriptive statistics of the study cohort and PM_2.5 exposure, with Cox proportional HRs for each covariate

All

299,500

−

−

−

6.32

2.54

Sex

  Male

137,800

−

−

−

6.28

2.54

  Female

161,700

−

−

−

6.36

2.54

Age group†

  25–34 years

52,500

−

−

−

6.39

2.54

  35–44 years

59,400

−

−

−

6.29

2.50

  45–54 years

58,100

−

−

−

6.21

2.51

  55–64 years

54,900

−

−

−

6.20

2.51

  65–74 years

41,700

−

−

−

6.41

2.58

  75–90 years

32,900

−

−

−

6.58

2.64

Immigrant status

  Not an immigrant

270,300

1.000

−

−

6.19

2.50

  Immigrant (in Canada ≥ 20 years)

28,800

*0.863

0.834

0.894

7.57

2.52

Visible minority status

  White

281,000

1.000

−

−

6.31

2.53

  Visible minority

17,700

0.938

0.877

1.004

6.49

2.67

Aboriginal status

  Not Aboriginal

289,600

1.000

−

−

6.36

2.54

  Aboriginal

9,200

*1.390

1.267

1.525

5.12

2.21

Marital status

  Married or common-law

183,500

1.000

−

−

6.09

2.46

  Separated, divorced, widowed

69,500

*1.344

1.306

1.382

6.62

2.60

  Single, never married

46,400

*1.512

1.446

1.581

6.82

2.63

Educational attainment

  Not completed high school

71,700

1.000

−

−

6.01

2.58

  High school diploma

113,500

*0.829

0.806

0.852

6.25

2.50

  Post-secondary diploma/certificate

64,900

*0.723

0.694

0.753

6.43

2.51

  University degree

47,100

*0.581

0.552

0.611

6.83

2.51

Low income adequacy quintile

  1st quintile - lowest

56,200

1.000

−

−

6.53

2.64

  2nd quintile

54,500

*0.787

0.762

0.813

6.37

2.58

  3rd quintile

53,000

*0.662

0.637

0.689

6.37

2.52

  4th quintile

53,300

*0.583

0.557

0.610

6.34

2.49

  5th quintile - highest

56,700

*0.483

0.458

0.509

6.17

2.43

Employment status

  Employed

174,500

1.000

−

−

6.31

2.50

  Not employed: looked for work‡

7,300

*1.522

1.319

1.757

6.20

2.61

  Not employed: did not look for work‡

78,100

*1.818

1.732

1.908

6.25

2.55

  Permanently unable to work

9,800

*4.533

4.274

4.808

6.43

2.64

Body Mass Index^a

  Underweight (<18.5)

3,700

*2.140

1.989

2.303

6.76

2.60

  Normal weight (18.5 - 25.0)

93,700

1.000

−

−

6.54

2.55

  Overweight (25.0 - 30.0)

114,900

*0.804

0.781

0.828

6.29

2.52

  Obese I (30.0 - 35.0)

54,700

*0.884

0.852

0.917

6.14

2.52

  Obese II (>35.0)

24,200

*1.270

1.209

1.334

6.06

2.53

Fruit and vegetable consumption

  <5 servings per day

153,200

1.000

−

−

6.38

2.56

  ≥5 servings per day

101,100

*0.828

0.806

0.851

6.52

2.52

Smoking

  Never smoked

84,100

1.000

−

−

6.41

2.53

  Former smoker

139,200

*1.284

1.244

1.324

6.26

2.51

  Current daily or occasional smoker

75,900

*2.604

2.509

2.702

6.33

2.59

Alcohol

  Regular drinker (≥1 drink per month)

141,700

1.000

−

−

6.51

2.55

  Occasional or former drinker

80,800

*1.394

1.356

1.433

6.25

2.59

  Never drinker

11,000

*1.274

1.214

1.337

6.17

2.64

Ecological covariates^b

  % recent immigrants (CD-DA)

−

*1.102

1.064

1.141

−

−

  % recent immigrants (CD)

−

*0.713

0.680

0.747

−

−

  % completed high school (CD-DA)

−

*0.928

0.919

0.938

−

−

  % completed high school (CD)

−

*0.897

0.886

0.908

−

−

  % in low income families (CD-DA)

−

*1.119

1.107

1.131

−

−

  % in low income families (CD)

−

*1.100

1.070

1.131

−

−