An examination of the mediating role of salt knowledge and beliefs on the relationship between socio-demographic factors and discretionary salt use: a cross-sectional study

Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the study sample

		Sample% (N)	Census^a (%)
Gender	Male	41.7 (221)	48.6^b
	Female	58.3 (309)	51.4
Age (years)	18-20	2.8 (15)	3.6 ^b
	21-30	15.5 (82)	17.6
	31-40	15.8 (84)	19.5
	41-50	18.1 (96)	19.6
	51-60	16.0 (85)	16.8
	61 - 70	23.2 (123)	11.1
	>70	8.5 (45)	11.8
Highest level of education	Left school at 16 years	25.7 (136)
	Left school at 18 years	15.3 (81)
	Technical and Further Education (TAFE) or college diploma, certificate or formal trade qualification	32.1 (170)	45.4^c,d,e
	Bachelor degree/ Graduate Diploma / Graduate Certificate	19.6 (104)	24.5
	Postgraduate degree	7.4 (39)	4.9
Employment	Employed full-time	33.0 (175)	36.6^c,d,f
	Employed part-time / casual	17.5 (93)	16.9
	Home duties / retired/ student	40.0 (212)	33.1
	Unemployed / looking for work	9.4 (50)	3.2
Household income (AUSD)	10,000 or less	4.9 (26)
	10,001 to 20,000	11.9 (63)
	20,001 to 40,000	18.1 (96)
	40,001 to 60,000	17.7 (94)
	60,001 to 80,000	15.3 (81)
	80,000 to or 100,000	13.4 (71)
	Over 100,001	18.7 (99)

^a Based on 2006 Census data [46]; ^b based on census data for population aged 18 and above; ^c based on individuals aged 15 years and over who stated completed qualification; ^d Denotes slight variation of categories between survey and census; ^e total percentages do not add up to 100% due to individuals who did not state or inadequately described their level of education; ^f total percentages do not add up to 100% due to individuals who have not stated their employment status.

ISSN: 1479-5868