Table 3.
Main characteristics of cases and controls, broken down by demographic features, lifestyle habits, underlying pathologies, drug use and influenza vaccination status
| VARIABLES | Cases (n = 254) | Controls (n = 254) | p -value * |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Demographic features and lifestyle habits |
|
|
|
| Aged 65 yrs or more^ |
53 (20.9%) |
50 (19.7%) |
0.45 |
| Smoking§ |
37 (14.6%) |
45 (17.7%) |
0.40 |
| Drinking†§ |
23 (9.1%) |
13 (5.1%) |
0.12 |
|
Underlying Pathologies |
|
|
|
| Cardiovascular diseases§ |
14 (5.5%) |
38 (15.0%) |
0.0004 |
| Hypertension§ |
56 (22.0%) |
53 (20.9%) |
0.80 |
| Respiratory diseases§ |
21 (8.3%) |
21 (8.3%) |
0.87 |
| Diabetes§ |
9 (3.5%) |
19 (7.5%) |
0.06 |
| Cancer§ |
3 (1.2%) |
5 (2.0%) |
0.72 |
| Kidney diseases§ |
7 (2.8%) |
8 (3.1%) |
1.00 |
| Dyslipidemia§ |
9 (3.5%) |
45 (17.7%) |
<0.0001 |
| Gastric ulcer§ |
5 (2.0%) |
29 (11.4%) |
<0.0001 |
| Gastric diseases§ ǂ |
5 (2.0%) |
14 (5.5%) |
0.07 |
|
Drugs taken |
|
|
|
| Fibrates§ |
1 (0.4%) |
8 (3.1%) |
0.046
**
|
| Statins§ |
9 (3.5%) |
44 (17.3%) |
<0.0001 |
| Antibiotics§ |
8 (3.1%) |
5 (2.0%) |
0.58 |
| Omeprazole family compounds§ |
19 (7.5%) |
73 (28.7%) |
<0.0001 |
|
Vaccination status |
|
|
|
| Influenza vaccination§ | 44 (17.3%) | 86 (33.9%) | <0.0001 |
^Reference: Less than 65 yrs.
†Reference: More than 2 glasses of wine or more than one glass of spirits a day.
§Reference: NO.
ǂExcept Gastric ulcer.
*Two-tailed p-value (McNemar’s test for matched case-control studies).
**According to conventional criteria, this difference is considered to be statistically significant.
The statistical significant p values are reported in bold.