Table 1. Baseline characteristics of Study Participants by Physical Activity, The Singapore Chinese Health Study.
| Total (N=59552) | No physical activity (n=46352) | Any physical activity (n=13200) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at recruitment (mean, SD) | 56.1 (7.9) | 56.1 (7.8) | 56.1 (8.0) | 0.467 |
| Education (n, %) | ||||
| No formal education | 15987 (26.9) | 13661 (29.5) | 2326 (17.6) | <0.0001 |
| Primary | 26344 (44.2) | 21145 (45.6) | 5199 (39.4) | |
| Secondary &above | 17221 (28.9) | 11546 (24.9) | 5675 (43.0) | |
| Dialect (n, %) | ||||
| Cantonese | 31818 (53.4) | 25181 (54.3) | 6637 (50.3) | <0.0001 |
| Hokkein | 27734 (46.6) | 21174 (45.7) | 6563 (49.7) | |
| History of hypertension (n, %) | 13654 (22.9) | 10501 (22.7) | 3153 (23.9) | 0.003 |
| History of diabetes (n, %) | 4789 (8.0) | 3737 (8.1) | 1052 (8.0) | 0.730 |
| History of heart disease (n, %) | 2165 (3.6) | 1620 (3.5) | 545 (4.1) | 0.0006 |
| History of stroke (n, %) | 742 (1.3) | 584 (1.3) | 158 (1.2) | 0.565 |
| Smoking history (n, %) | ||||
| Never smoker | 42093 (70.7) | 32672 (70.5) | 9421 (71.4) | 0.049 |
| Ever smoker | 17459 (29.3) | 13680 (29.5) | 3779 (28.6) | |
| Alcohol (n, %) | ||||
| Never | 52625 (88.4) | 41163 (88.8) | 11462 (86.8) | <0.0001 |
| Weekly | 4888 (8.2) | 3566 (7.7) | 1322 (10.0) | |
| Daily | 2039 (3.4) | 1623 (3.5) | 416 (3.2) | |
| BMI (mean, SD) | 23.1 (3.3) | 23.1 (3.3) | 23.1 (3.2) | 0.680 |
| Ginseng (n, %) | ||||
| Never | 49477 (83.1) | 38812 (83.7) | 10665 (80.8) | <0.0001 |
| 1-3/month | 2744 (4.6) | 2041 (4.4) | 703 (5.3) | |
| 1-3/week | 5744 (9.7) | 4315 (9.3) | 1429 (10.8) | |
| 4-6/week and more | 1587 (2.6) | 1184 (2.6) | 403 (3.1) | |
| Protein intake (gm/Kcal/day) mean (SD) | 15.2 (2.5) | 15.2 (2.5) | 15.3 (2.4) | <0.0001 |
Any physically active group was defined as individuals who engaged in any moderate activity for 2 hours or more per week, or any strenuous activity on a weekly basis for at least 30 minutes.