Table 1. Baseline demographic & medical characteristics of participants.
| Characteristics | Respondents (%)† (n=199) |
|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | |
| Sex | |
| Male | 70 (35.2) |
| Female | 129 (64.8) |
| Age (years), mean ± SD | 33.7±13.9 |
| Ethnicity | |
| Chinese | 168 (84.4) |
| Malay | 17 (8.5) |
| Indian | 8 (4.0) |
| Others, or not reported | 6 (3.0) |
| Languages (spoken/written) | |
| English | 194 (97.5) |
| Mandarin | 168 (84.4) |
| Malay | 39 (19.6) |
| Marital status | |
| Single | 115 (57.8) |
| Married | 78 (39.2) |
| Divorced | 4 (2.0) |
| Widowed | 2 (1.0) |
| Employment status | |
| Employed (full-time) | 124 (62.3) |
| Employed (part-time) | 20 (10.1) |
| Unemployed/retired | 55 (27.6) |
| Educational level | |
| Degree/diploma | 109 (54.8) |
| Secondary or pre-university | 71 (35.7) |
| Primary or below | 19 (9.5) |
| Residential status | |
| Public housing | 157 (78.9) |
| Private housing | 42 (21.1) |
| Medical characteristics | |
| Chronic conditions | |
| None | 173 (86.9) |
| 1 to 3 | 24 (12.1) |
| More than 3 | 2 (1.0) |
| Hospitalizations (in the past year) | |
| None | 177 (88.9) |
| 1 to 2 | 19 (9.5) |
| 3 or more | 3 (1.5) |
| Chronic disease visits (per year), n=26‡ | |
| None | 6 (23.1) |
| 1 to 2 | 7 (26.9) |
| 3 or more | 13 (50.0) |
| Regular follow up locations | |
| No regular visits | 166 (83.4) |
| Polyclinic | 11 (5.5) |
| Private GP/family doctor | 12 (6.0) |
| Specialist, public hospital | 11 (5.5) |
| Specialist, private | 5 (2.5) |
| Regular medications (daily) | |
| None | 158 (79.4) |
| 1 to 3 | 39 (19.6) |
| More than 3 | 2 (1.0) |
| Compliance, n=41§ | |
| Always/usually | 21 (51.2) |
| Sometimes/rarely | 20 (48.8) |
| Others (regular) | |
| Traditional medicines use | 29 (14.6) |
| Supplements use | 74 (37.2) |
†, unless otherwise specified; ‡, only including participants reporting chronic conditions; §, only among participants who reported taking regular medications. GP, general practitioner.