Table 2.
Study participant demographic characteristics
| Cordyceps mycelium extract group (n = 40) | Placebo group (n = 40) |
Total (n = 80) |
P-valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 48.0 ± 6.3 | 47.3 ± 5.7 | 47.6 ± 5.9 | 0.563 |
| Sex (M/F) | 25/15 | 27/13 | 52/28 | 0.639 |
| Height (cm) | 167.6 ± 8.4 | 165.9 ± 7.3 | 166.7 ± 7.9 | 0.344 |
| Weight (kg) | 66.7 ± 9.9 | 68.7 ± 12.0 | 67.7 ± 11.0 | 0.405 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.7 ± 2.7 | 24.8 ± 3.1 | 24.3 ± 3.0 | 0.084 |
| NK-cell activity (25:1) (%) |
33.7 ± 17.4 | 37.9 ± 18.2 | 35.8 ± 17.7 | 0.296 |
| IL-1ß (pg/mL) | 3.1 ± 1.3 | 4.0 ± 7.7 | 3.5 ± 5.5 | 0.505 |
| IL-2 (pg/mL) | 3.0 ± 0.8 | 2.9 ± 0.6 | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 0.385 |
| IL-4 (pg/mL) | 10.4 ± 2.7 | 11.0 ± 6.8 | 10.7 ± 5.2 | 0.652 |
| IL-10 (pg/mL) | 5.1 ± 4.5 | 3.8 ± 3.0 | 4.4 ± 3.8 | 0.139 |
| IL-12 (pg/mL) | 5.8 ± 6.1 | 5.1 ± 3.3 | 5.4 ± 4.9 | 0.537 |
| INF-γ (pg/mL) | 10.5 ± 5.5 | 10.0 ± 5.1 | 10.2 ± 5.2 | 0.625 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 6.5 ± 1.4 | 6.2 ± 1.5 | 6.3 ± 1.5 | 0.339 |
| Drinker (person) | 25 (62.5%) | 19(47.5%) | 44(55.0%) | 0.178 |
| Drinking quantity (units) | 3.3 ± 2.9 | 4.7 ± 4.5 | 3.9 ± 3.7 | 0.235 |
| Smoker (person) | 4(10.0%) | 4(10.0%) | 8(10.0%) | > 0.999 |
| Smoking amount (cigarettes) | 13.0 ± 4.8 | 17.5 ± 5.0 | 15.3 ± 5.1 | 0.240 |
Values are presented as the mean ± SD or number (%)
a Analyzed by an Independent t-test, Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test