Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population.
| Control N = 152 | Asthma Case N = 133 | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender N (%) | |||
| Male | 68 (44.7%) | 58 (43.6%) | 0.47 |
| Female | 84 (55.3%) | 75 (56.4%) | |
| Age N (%) | |||
| mean year (s.d.) | 58.7 (11.8) | 56.1 (16.5) | 0.48 |
| Below 54 year old | 60 (39.5%) | 52 (39.1%) | 0.99 |
| 55–69 years old | 59 (38.8%) | 52 (39.1%) | |
| More than 70 years old | 33 (21.7%) | 29 (21.8%) | |
| Education Level N (%) | |||
| Below junior high school | 50 (32.9%) | 66 (49.6%) | 0.01* |
| Senior high School | 60 (39.5%) | 43 (32.3%) | |
| above bachelor | 42 (27.6%) | 24 (18.0%) | |
| Race N (%) | |||
| Taiwanese | 125 (82.2%) | 109 (82.0%) | 0.24 |
| Hakka | 7 (4.6%) | 8 (6.0%) | |
| Born in China | 18 (11.8%) | 10 (7.5%) | |
| Aboriginal | 2 (1.3%) | 6 (4.5%) | |
| Smoking habits N (%) | |||
| Never-smokers | 122 (80.3%) | 97 (72.9%) | 0.34 |
| Ex-smokers | 17 (11.2%) | 21 (15.8%) | |
| Smokers | 13 (8.6%) | 15 (11.3%) | |
| Passive smoking exposure at home N (%) | |||
| No | 51 (33.6%) | 53 (39.8%) | 0.16 |
| Yes | 101 (66.4%) | 80 (60.2%) | |
| Passive smoking exposure at work N (%) | |||
| No | 108 (71.1%) | 86 (64.7%) | 0.15 |
| Yes | 44 (28.9%) | 47 (35.3%) | |
*P < 0.05.