Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of smokers who used varenicline or NRT (patch or gum) in the Tobacco Smoking Cessation Services Program in Taiwan, 2012 to 2015
| Covariate | Total (n = 13 397) | Age 25–54 years (n = 10 536) | p-valuea | Age 55 years or older (n = 2861) | p-valuea | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varenicline (n = 5117) | NRT patch or gum (n = 5419) | Varenicline (n = 1219) | NRT patch or gum (n = 1642) | ||||
| Mean ± SD or N (%) | |||||||
| Age, years | 45.4 ± 11.9 | 40.5 ± 7.8 | 40.8 ± 8.0 | 0.057 | 62.3 ± 5.9 | 63.6 ± 6.9 | <0.001 |
| 25–34 | 2996 (22) | 1467 (29) | 1529 (28) | 0.030 | N/A | N/A | |
| 35–44 | 4011 (30) | 1998 (39) | 2013 (37) | N/A | N/A | ||
| 45–54 | 3529 (26) | 1652 (32) | 1877 (35) | N/A | N/A | ||
| 55–64 | 1974 (15) | N/A | N/A | 909 (75) | 1065 (65) | <0.001 | |
| 65+ | 887 (7) | N/A | N/A | 310 (25) | 577 (35) | ||
| Male | 11 344 (85) | 4281(84) | 4483 (83) | 0.199 | 1090 (89) | 1490 (91) | 0.239 |
| Education | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||
| Elementary or less | 1361 (10) | 105 (2) | 185 (3) | 403 (33) | 668 (41) | ||
| Junior high school | 1829 (14) | 578 (11) | 791 (15) | 193 (16) | 267 (16) | ||
| Senior high school | 5080 (38) | 1976 (39) | 2374 (44) | 313 (26) | 417 (25) | ||
| College or more | 5127 (38) | 2458 (48) | 2069 (38) | 310 (25) | 290 (18) | ||
| Marital status | 0.068 | 0.378 | |||||
| Single | 2866 (21) | 1374 (27) | 1395 (26) | 47 (4) | 50 (3) | ||
| Married | 8781 (66) | 3208 (63) | 3374 (62) | 945 (78) | 1254 (76) | ||
| Other | 1430 (11) | 535 (10) | 523 (10) | 227 (19) | 291 (18) | ||
| Region | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||
| Northern area | 6501 (49) | 2785 (54) | 2384 (44) | 659 (54) | 673 (41) | ||
| Middle area | 3084 (23) | 968 (19) | 1422 (26) | 235 (19) | 459 (28) | ||
| Southern area | 3812 (28) | 1364 (27) | 1613 (30) | 325 (27) | 510 (31) | ||
| Medical institution | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||
| Community clinics | 8743 (65) | 2784 (54) | 4232 (78) | 543 (45) | 1184 (72) | ||
| Hospital outpatient | 4654 (35) | 2333 (46) | 1187 (22) | 676 (55) | 458 (28) | ||
| FTND scoreb | 6.6 ± 2.1 | 6.7 ± 2.1 | 6.5 ± 2.1 | <0.001 | 6.7 ± 2.1 | 6.4 ± 2.0 | <0.001 |
| Nicotine dependency | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||
| Light/moderateb | 6299 (47) | 2289 (45) | 2647 (49) | 536 (44) | 827 (50) | ||
| Severeb | 7098 (53) | 2828 (55) | 2772 (51) | 683 (56) | 815 (50) | ||
| Smoking years | 23.8 ± 11.2 | 20.5 ± 8.0 | 19.9 ± 8.4 | <0.001 | 37.5 ± 10.0 | 36.8 ± 11.5 | 0.078 |
| <20 | 4349 (32) | 2013 (39) | 2221 (41) | 0.219 | 34 (3) | 81 (5) | 0.004 |
| 20–39 | 7402 (55) | 3049 (60) | 3144 (58) | 501 (41) | 708 (43) | ||
| ≥40 | 1646 (12) | 55 (1) | 54 (1) | 684 (56) | 853 (52) | ||
| Clinic visit number | 2.3 ± 1.8 | 2.6 ± 1.8 | 2.1 ± 1.8 | <0.001 | 2.5 ± 1.7 | 2.0 ± 1.7 | <0.001 |
| Once | 6280 (47) | 1771 (35) | 3072 (57) | <0.001 | 475 (39) | 962 (59) | <0.001 |
| Twice or more | 7117 (53) | 3346 (65) | 2347 (43) | 744 (61) | 680 (41) | ||
| Duration of medication received (week) | 3.5 ± 2.5 | 4.1 ± 2.6 | 3.0 ± 2.3 | <0.001 | 4.1 ± 2.7 | 3.0 ± 2.4 | <0.001 |
| 1 week | 3783 (28) | 1037 (20) | 1871 (35) | <0.001 | 300 (25) | 575 (35) | <0.001 |
| 2 weeks | 2818 (21) | 876 (17) | 1341 (25) | 191 (16) | 410 (25) | ||
| ≥3 weeks | 6796 (51) | 3204 (63) | 2207 (41) | 728 (60) | 657 (40) | ||
NRT = nicotine replacement therapy; SD = standard deviation.
a
P-value for χ2 test or Student’s t-test.
b
Nicotine dependence level defined by the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) score (19): 0–3, light; 4–6, moderate; 7–10, severe20.