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Table 2 Sample characteristics by attitude and use of traditional medicine

From: Belief in and use of traditional Chinese medicine in Shanghai older adults: a cross-sectional study

 

Belief on Traditional Medicine

Use of Traditional Medicine

 

Yes

No

Yes

No

Sample size

1593

1825

1568

1850

Demographics

 Gender (male = 1, female = 0)

46.3%

48.7%

43.8%

50.8%

 Mean age (range: 50–100)

68.5

69.3

69.5

68.5

 Residence (urban = 1, rural = 0)

85.2%

89.2%

85.4%

88.9%

Medical factors

 Hypertension (yes = 1, no = 0)

47.0%

49.0%

50.5%

46.0%

 Cardiovascular diseases (yes = 1, no = 0)

24.0%

23.2%

27.9%

19.9%

 Stroke (yes = 1, no = 0)

5.2%

6.4%

6.1%

5.5%

 Pneumonia/ … / asthma (yes = 1, no = 0)

11.9%

12.0%

15.2%

9.1%

 Diabetes (yes = 1, no = 0)

10.7%

11.5%

12.1%

10.3%

 Depression (yes = 1, no = 0)

1.1%

1.2%

1.3%

1.0%

 Cancer (yes = 1, no = 0)

3.5%

1.6%

4.0%

1.2%

 Prostatitis (yes = 1, no = 0)

6.2%

4.0%

6.3%

3.9%

 Osteoporosis/osteoarthritis (yes = 1, no = 0)

20.0%

21.3%

24.0%

17.9%

 Fracture (yes = 1, no = 0)

5.5%

3.9%

6.1%

3.4%

 Parkinson’s disease (yes = 1, no = 0)

0.4%

0.9%

0.6%

0.8%

 Nervous system disease (yes = 1, no = 0)

4.8%

6.1%

7.3%

4.1%

Socioeconomics

 Education: Primary school or below

25.3%

30.4%

27.7%

28.3%

 Middle school

30.2%

35.1%

30.5%

34.8%

 High/polytechnic school

27.9%

23.8%

25.8%

25.7%

 Colleague or above.

16.6%

10.7%

16.1%

11.2%

 Monthly income (range: 0–10,000 Yuan)

2.6

2.4

2.5

2.5

 Main occupation: Professional/administrative

25.4%

17.1%

24.2%

18.2%

 Clerk/service

19.9%

19.1%

17.9%

20.8%

 Physical labor

42.8%

50.3%

44.5%

48.7%

 Other

12.0%

13.6%

13.4%

12.4%

Relational and contextual factors

 Spouse accompany (yes = 1, no = 0)

80.2%

75.7%

78.1%

77.5%

 Average number of strong ties to confide

4.3

3.7

4.2

3.7

 Knowing medical staff (yes = 1, no = 0)

21.0%

13.5%

19.1%

15.2%

 Average number of community facilities

5.4

5.2

5.4

5.2

 GDP per capita in the district (unit: 10,000 Yuan)

1.4

1.5

1.5

1.4

 Medical staff per 10,000 residents in the district

10.8

10.7

10.9

10.6