Table S3. Participants’ characteristics at baseline.
| Variables | n (%) | χ2 | P | ||
| Healthy population (N=15,008) | EC case (N=176) | Total (N=15,184) | |||
| EC, esophageal cancer; BMI, body mass index. | |||||
| Gender | |||||
| Male | 6,865 (45.74) | 118 (67.05) | 6,983 (45.99) | 31.784 | <0.001 |
| Female | 8,143 (54.26) | 58 (32.95) | 8,201 (54.01) | ||
| Age at baseline (year) | |||||
| 40−49 | 6,255 (41.68) | 36 (20.45) | 6,291 (41.43) | 32.988 | <0.001 |
| 50−59 | 6,132 (40.86) | 102 (57.95) | 6,234 (41.06) | ||
| 60−69 | 2,621 (17.46) | 38 (21.59) | 2,659 (17.51) | ||
| Marital status | |||||
| Married | 14,029 (93.48) | 160 (90.91) | 14,189 (93.45) | 1.873 | 0.171 |
| Unmarried/divorced/widowed | 979 (6.52) | 16 (9.09) | 995 (6.55) | ||
| Educational status | |||||
| No education | 2,201 (14.67) | 20 (11.36) | 2,221 (14.63) | 2.085 | 0.353 |
| Elementary school | 5,384 (35.87) | 61 (34.66) | 5,445 (35.86) | ||
| Middle school and above | 7,423 (49.46) | 95 (53.98) | 7,518 (49.51) | ||
| No. of family members | |||||
| 1−2 | 3,281 (21.86) | 58 (32.95) | 3,339 (21.99) | 15.412 | 0.004 |
| 3 | 2,856 (19.03) | 22 (12.50) | 2,878 (18.95) | ||
| 4 | 5,038 (33.57) | 51 (28.98) | 5,089 (33.52) | ||
| 5 | 2,502 (16.67) | 32 (18.18) | 2,534 (16.69) | ||
| ≥6 | 1,331 (8.87) | 13 (7.39) | 1,344 (8.85) | ||
| Annual income (CNY/person) | |||||
| ≤5,000 | 4,857 (32.36) | 69 (39.20) | 4,926 (32.44) | 3.715 | 0.054 |
| >5,000 | 10,151 (67.64) | 107 (60.80) | 10,258 (67.56) | ||
| BMI (kg/m2) | |||||
| <18.5 | 515 (3.43) | 8 (4.55) | 525 (3.46) | 6.150 | 0.407 |
| 18.5−23.9 | 8,453 (56.32) | 110 (62.50) | 8,562 (56.39) | ||
| 24.0−27.9 | 4,805 (32.02) | 51 (28.98) | 4,855 (31.97) | ||
| ≥28.0 | 1,235 (8.23) | 7 (3.98) | 1,242 (8.18) | ||
| Smoking status | |||||
| No | 10,868 (72.41) | 105 (59.66) | 10,973 (72.27) | 14.123 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 4,140 (27.59) | 71 (40.34) | 4,211 (27.73) | ||
| History of digestive diseases | |||||
| No | 13,246 (88.26) | 154 (87.50) | 13,400 (88.25) | 0.097 | 0.756 |
| Yes | 1,762 (11.74) | 22 (12.50) | 1,784 (11.75) | ||
| Family history of cancer | |||||
| No | 10,587 (70.54) | 118 (67.05) | 10,705 (70.50) | 1.023 | 0.312 |
| Yes | 4,421 (29.46) | 58 (32.95) | 4,479 (29.50) | ||