Table 2.
General Characteristics of Patients at Baseline#.
| Characteristics | Western medicine group | TCM group | Combined group | χ 2/F | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average age—yr∗ | 61.86 ± 9.82 | 64.01 ± 11.03 | 63.76 ± 10.30 | 1.009 | 0.366 |
| Male sex — no. (%) | 58(73.42) | 53(67.09) | 55(70.51) | 0.684 | 0.760 |
| Han nationality— no. (%) | 74(93.67) | 77(97.47) | 77(97.47) | 1.798 | 0.517& |
| Age levels—yr | |||||
| Under 40 | 3(3.80) | 2(2.53) | 3(3.85) | 8.890 | 0.346& |
| 40- | 6(7.59) | 8(10.13) | 7(8.97) | ||
| 50- | 21(26.58) | 17(21.52) | 17(21.79) | ||
| 60- | 37(46.84) | 27(34.18) | 27(34.62) | ||
| 70- | 12(15.19) | 25(31.65) | 24(30.77) | ||
| Education levels | |||||
| Illiteracy/ Semiliterate — no. (%) | 4(5.06) | 3(3.80) | 3(3.85) | 7.614 | 0.673& |
| Primary school — no. (%) | 11(13.92) | 11(13.92) | 10(12.82) | ||
| Junior middle school — no. (%) | 31(39.24) | 28(35.44) | 33(42.31) | ||
| Senior middle school — no. (%) | 20(25.32) | 21(26.58) | 24(30.77) | ||
| Junior college — no. (%) | 8(10.13) | 12(15.19) | 6(7.69) | ||
| Undergraduate — no. (%) | 5(6.33) | 5(6.33) | 2(2.56) | ||
| Occupation | |||||
| Worker — no. (%) | 5(6.33) | 9(11.39) | 5(6.41) | 14.921 | 0.482& |
| Farmer — no. (%) | 17(21.52) | 11(13.92) | 13(16.67) | ||
| Intellectual — no. (%) | 3(3.80) | 2(2.53) | 2(2.56) | ||
| Manager — no. (%) | 4(5.06) | 3(3.80) | 0(0.00) | ||
| Service — no. (%) | 2(2.53) | 3(3.80) | 0(0.00) | ||
| Retirement — no. (%) | 44(55.70) | 49(62.03) | 53(67.95) | ||
| Unemployed— no. (%) | 2(2.53) | 2(2.53) | 4(5.13) | ||
| Laid-off— no. (%) | 1(1.27) | 0(0.00) | 0(0.00) | ||
| Others— no. (%) | 1(1.27) | 0(0.00) | 1(1.28) | ||
| Lung function | |||||
| GOLD 1-2— no. | 45 | 43 | 39 | 0.784 | 0.676 |
| GOLD 3-4 — no. | 34 | 36 | 39 |
∗Plus–minus values are means ± SD. #There were no significant differences between the three groups in any of the baseline characteristics. & Fish's exact test.