Table 1. Patient characteristics at tracking endpoint.
| GlcN | Total | With | Without | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| Total | 6,720 | 1,344 | 20.00 | 5,376 | 80.00 | ||
| AMD | 0.014 | ||||||
| Without | 6,388 | 95.06 | 1,295 | 96.35 | 5,093 | 94.74 | |
| With | 332 | 4.94 | 49 | 3.65 | 283 | 5.26 | |
| AMD subgroup | 0.011 | ||||||
| Without | 6,388 | 95.06 | 1,295 | 96.35 | 5,093 | 94.74 | 0.017 |
| Wet type | 33 | 0.49 | 10 | 0.74 | 23 | 0.43 | 0.910 |
| Dry type | 299 | 4.45 | 39 | 2.90 | 260 | 4.84 | 0.003 |
| Gender | 0.999 | ||||||
| Male | 3,125 | 46.50 | 625 | 46.50 | 2,500 | 46.50 | |
| Female | 3,595 | 53.50 | 719 | 53.50 | 2,876 | 53.50 | |
| Age (yrs) | 75.08 ± 9.34 | 78.14 ± 7.17 | 74.31 ± 9.66 | <0.001 | |||
| Age group (yrs) | <0.001 | ||||||
| 50–59 | 203 | 3.02 | 10 | 0.74 | 193 | 3.59 | 0.155 |
| 60–69 | 1,148 | 17.08 | 183 | 13.62 | 965 | 17.95 | 0.036 |
| 70–79 | 2,490 | 37.05 | 572 | 42.56 | 1,918 | 35.68 | 0.003 |
| ≧80 | 2,879 | 42.84 | 579 | 43.08 | 2,300 | 42.78 | 0.897 |
| DM | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 4,569 | 67.99 | 705 | 52.46 | 3,864 | 71.88 | |
| With | 2,151 | 32.01 | 639 | 47.54 | 1,512 | 28.13 | |
| HTN | 0.961 | ||||||
| Without | 3,414 | 50.80 | 682 | 50.74 | 2,732 | 50.82 | |
| With | 3,306 | 49.20 | 662 | 49.26 | 2,644 | 49.18 | |
| Hyperlipidemia | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 4,600 | 68.45 | 675 | 50.22 | 3,925 | 73.01 | |
| With | 2,120 | 31.55 | 669 | 49.78 | 1,451 | 26.99 | |
| CAD | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 4,690 | 69.79 | 760 | 56.55 | 3,930 | 73.10 | |
| With | 2,030 | 30.21 | 584 | 43.45 | 1,446 | 26.90 | |
| Asthma | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 5,857 | 87.16 | 1,056 | 78.57 | 4,801 | 89.30 | |
| With | 863 | 12.84 | 288 | 21.43 | 575 | 10.70 | |
| COPD | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 4,603 | 68.50 | 677 | 50.37 | 3,926 | 73.03 | |
| With | 2,117 | 31.50 | 667 | 49.63 | 1,450 | 26.97 | |
| Stroke | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 5,012 | 74.58 | 823 | 61.24 | 4,189 | 77.92 | |
| With | 1,708 | 25.42 | 521 | 38.76 | 1,187 | 22.08 | |
| Tobacco dependency | 0.097 | ||||||
| Without | 6,672 | 99.29 | 1,326 | 98.66 | 5,346 | 99.44 | |
| With | 48 | 0.71 | 18 | 1.34 | 30 | 0.56 | |
| HF | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 5,861 | 87.22 | 1,059 | 78.79 | 4,802 | 89.32 | |
| With | 859 | 12.78 | 285 | 21.21 | 574 | 10.68 | |
| Dementia | 0.003 | ||||||
| Without | 6,066 | 90.27 | 1,141 | 84.90 | 4,925 | 91.61 | |
| With | 654 | 9.73 | 203 | 15.10 | 451 | 8.39 | |
| Other neurological disorders | 0.794 | ||||||
| Without | 6,544 | 97.38 | 1,300 | 96.73 | 5,244 | 97.54 | |
| With | 176 | 2.62 | 44 | 3.27 | 132 | 2.46 | |
| Degenerative arthritis | <0.001 | ||||||
| Without | 5,377 | 80.01 | 199 | 14.81 | 5,178 | 96.32 | |
| With | 1,343 | 19.99 | 1,145 | 85.19 | 198 | 3.68 | |
| CCI_R | 0.19 ± 0.77 | 0.13 ± 0.64 | 0.20 ± 0.80 | 0.003 | |||
| Number of NHI claims for ophthalmic outpatient visits | 7.86 ± 8.02 | 8.02 ± 8.11 | 7.85 ± 8.01 | 0.443 | |||
P: Chi-square / Fisher exact test on category variables, t-test on continue variables, and proportional test for percentage. GlcN: glucosamine; AMD: age-related macular degeneration; DM: diabetes mellitus; HTN: hypertension; CAD: coronary artery disease; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; HF: heart failure; CCI: Charlson comorbidity index.