Table 1.
Participant demographics and clinical characteristics (n = 120).
| Demographic Characteristics | HNC1n(%) | HC2n(%) | Statistics | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (Years, Mean, SD) | 61.5±8.8 | 63.3±9.1 | Kruskal-Wallis value=1.5311 | 0.2159 | |
| Sex[n (%)] | Male [n (%)] | 56(100) | 64(100) | – | – |
| Female [n (%)] | 0(0) | 0(0) | – | – | |
| Ethnicity [n (%)] | Han | 56(100) | 64(100) | – | – |
| Other | 0(0) | 0(0) | – | – | |
| Educational Background [n (%)] | Illiteracy | 1(1.8) | 4(6.3) | Fisher’s exact test | 0.089 |
| Primary school | 16(28.6) | 19(29.7) | – | – | |
| Middle school | 22(39.3) | 33(51.6) | – | – | |
| Senior school | 11(19.6) | 7(10.9) | – | – | |
| College or bachelor’s degree or above | 6(10.7) | 1(1.6) | – | – | |
| Marital Status [n (%)] | Single | 1(1.8) | 0(0.0) | Fisher’s exact test | 0.2805 |
| Married | 51(91.1) | 63(98.4) | – | – | |
| Divorced/separated | 1(1.8) | 0(0.0) | – | – | |
| Widowed | 2(3.6) | 1(1.6) | – | – | |
| Other | 1(1.8) | 0(0) | – | – | |
| Employment Status [n (%)] | Unemployed/retired | 35(62.5) | 45(70.3) | Chi-square value=0.50642 | 0.4767 |
| Employed | 21(37.5) | 19(29.7) | – | – | |
| Living Situation [n (%)] | Live alone | 4(7.1) | 3(4.7) | Fisher’s exact test | 0.7039 |
| Live with family | 52(92.9) | 61(95.3) | – | – | |
| Per Capita Monthly Household Income [n (%)] | Can hardly make ends meet/≤1000 | 2(3.6) | 6(9.4) | Fisher’s exact test | 0.2813 |
| Make ends meet /≤1000 | 54(96.4) | 58(90.6) | – | – | |
| Smoking History [n (%)] ** | No | 2(3.6) | 17(26.6) | Fisher’s exact test | 0.0007 |
| Yes | 54(96.4) | 47(73.4) | – | – | |
| Alcohol History [n (%)] | No | 14(25.0) | 25(39.1) | Chi-square value=2.0894 | 0.1483. |
| Yes | 42(75.0) | 39(60.9) | – | – | |
| Clinical Characteristics [n (%)] | |||||
| HNC type /Primary lesion site | Laryngeal cancer /Larynx | 47(83.9) | – | – | – |
| Hypopharyngeal cancer/Hypopharynx | 9(16.1) | – | – | – | |
| Other | 0(0) | – | – | – | |
| Clinical stage | I | 22 | – | – | – |
| II | 7 | – | – | – | |
| III | 7 | – | – | – | |
| IV | 20 | – | – | – | |
| Underwent Biopsy [n (%)] | Yes | 56(100) | – | – | – |
| No | 0(0) | – | – | – | |
| Other Chronic Illness, Hypertension [n (%)] | No | 39(69.6) | 44(68.8) | Fisher’s exact test | 1 |
| Yes | 17(30.4) | 20(31.3) | – | – | |
| Other Chronic Illness, Diabetes [n (%)] | No | 54(96.4) | 59(92.2) | Fisher’s exact test | 0.4467 |
| Yes | 2(3.6) | 5(7.8) | – | – | |
1HNC, patients with head and neck cancer (n = 56); 2HNC, healthy controls (n = 64). **P-value < 0.01.