BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Over 80 percent of elderly Chinese do not drink alcohol, according to a recent survey.
Only one percent of those surveyed said they are regular drinkers, according to the Survey Report on the Living Conditions of China's Urban and Rural Older Persons (2018) compiled by the China Research Center on Aging.
Nearly 67 percent of elderly said they have never smoked, and 76.5 percent of the surveyed do not smoke currently. Only 18.5 percent of interviewees said they smoke on a regular basis.
The survey, which interviewed 222,700 Chinese over the age of 60, was published by the Social Sciences Academic Press.
It also showed that more than 55 percent of elderly have received a physical examination free of charge.
According to the survey, 31.1 percent of interviewees reported having at least one chronic disease, while 13.6 percent are suffering from at least three chronic diseases, which the report stated proves that chronic diseases are the biggest threat to the health of the elderly.
The five most common chronic diseases among elderly Chinese are osteoarthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cataracts and glaucoma, and gastritis, according to the survey.
