Table 1.
Characteristics of the whole sample and the users and non-users of DS.
| Reg (n) | Whole Sample (n = 504) | Range (Min/Max) | Users of DS (n = 430) | Non-Users of DS (n = 74) | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender, women (n) (%) | 504 | 476 (94.4) | 407 (94.7) | 69 (93.2) | 0.63 | |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 504 | 52.7 (10.1) | 21–81 | 52.8 (10.1) | 51.8 (10) | 0.43 |
| Marital status, living with a partner (n) (%) | 504 | 382 (75.8) | 324 (75.3) | 58 (78.4) | 0.57 | |
| Education, high (n) (%) | 504 | 253 (50.2) | 232 (54) | 21 (28.4) | 0.01 * | |
| Employment, active (n) (%) | 504 | 171 (33.9) | 145 (33.7) | 26 (35.1) | 0.81 | |
| Health professional background (n) (%) | 504 | 132 (26.2) | 117 (27.2) | 15 (20.3) | 0.21 | |
| Number of diagnoses, mean (SD) | 504 | 2.2 (1.3) | 1–7 | 2.3 (1.3) | 2.1 (1.3) | 0.24 |
| Comorbidity, two or more diagnoses (n) (%) | 504 | 311 (61.7) | 271 (63) | 40 (54.1) | 0.14 | |
| Number of medications, high (n) (%) | 412 | 230 (45.6) | 201 (56.9) | 29 (49.2) | 0.27 | |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean (SD) | 499 | 28.5 (5.4) | 16–46.1 | 28.4 (5.4) | 29.2 (5.4) | 0.25 |
| Lifestyle factors, health index, mean (SD) | 486 | 3.4 (0.9) | 0–5 | 3.4 (0.9) | 3.3 (0.9) | 0.38 |
| Self-reported health in general, mean (SD) | 504 | 3.2 (1.1) | 1–6 | 3.2 (1.1) | 3.1 (1.1) | 0.36 |
| Self-reported health today, mean (SD) | 504 | 50.3 (17.6) | 0–90 | 50.3 (17.7) | 50 (17.3) | 0.88 |
| Self-reported knowledge of DS, mean (SD) | 504 | 4.2 (1) | 1–6 | 4.3 (0.9) | 3.6 (1.3) | 0.01 * |
| Knowledge about health claims, mean (SD) | 504 | 26.9 (6.2) | 10–48 | 26.7 (6.3) | 28.5 (5.7) | 0.02 * |
| Sources of information, reliable (n) (%) | 504 | 402 (79.8) | 351 (81.6) | 51 (31.1) | 0.01 * |
Note: p-value implies the significance level based on the chi-squared test for categorical data and the independent samples t-test for interval data between the users and non-users of DS (dietary supplements); * p < 0.05. Reg (n) = number of registered users, % = percentage, SD = standard deviation. For the blank rows, range as a measure was not applicable since the variable represented categorical data. Gender (0 = male and 1 = female), age expressed in years, living with a partner (0 = no and 1 = yes), education (0 = low and 1 = high), employment (0 = not active and 1 = active), health professional background (0 = no and 1 = yes), number of diagnoses, comorbidity (0 = no and 1 = yes), number of medications (0 = low and 1 = high), body mass index (BMI) calculated from a person’s height and weight (18.5–25 = healthy BMI), lifestyle factors as the health index score (from 0 to 5, where a higher number indicates a better lifestyle), self-reported health in general (range, 1–6; high score indicates better health), self-reported health today (range, 0–100; high score indicates better health), self-reported knowledge of DS (range, 1–6; high score indicates better knowledge), knowledge about health claims (range, 9–54; high score indicates better knowledge), sources of information (0 = not reliable and 1 = reliable).