Table 3.
Characteristics of human participants and buccal smear samples
| Control (non-chewer) | Betel quid chewer | Total | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samples, N (%) | 45 (64.3) | 25 (35.7) | 70 (100) | |
| Gender | 0.628* | |||
| Male, N (%) | 9 (20) | 5 (20) | 14 (20) | |
| Female, N (%) | 36 (80) | 20 (80) | 56 (80) | |
| Age (years) | 35.5 ± 13.6 | 39.5 ± 12.0 | 0.200** | |
| Duration of betel quid chewing habits | ||||
| ≥ 6 months, N (%) | – | 6 (24) | 25 (35.7) | |
| 1–10 years, N (%) | – | 14 (56) | ||
| > 10 years, N (%) | – | 5 (20) | ||
| Chewing years (mean ± SD) | – | 7.3 ± 10.3 | ||
| SIRT1 DNA average methylation level | 4.0 ± 4.6 | 16.5 ± 23.7 | 0.001** |
Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD); values in italics represent statistical significance (p < 0.05)
*p value is calculated using Pearson’s chi-square test
**p value is calculated using one-way ANOVA test