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Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of study respondents and comparison of the socio-demographic characteristics among HDS users and non-users

From: The use of herbal and dietary supplement among community-dwelling elderly in a suburban town of Malaysia

Characteristics

HDS users (n = 154)

HDS non-users (n = 182)

Pa

All

Gender

 Male

43 (27.9)

69 (37.9)

0.053

112 (33.3)

 Female

111 (72.1)

113 (62.1)

 

224 (66.7)

Age (mean ± SD)

63.45 ± 2.99

63.66 ± 2.89

0.525b

63.57 ± 2.94

Range

60–71

60–77

 

60–77

Age group

 60–65 years

105 (68.2)

123 (67.6)

0.907

228 (67.9)

  > 65 years

49 (31.8)

59 (32.4)

 

108 (32.1)

Race

 Malay

98 (63.6)

112 (61.5)

0.205

210 (62.5)

 Chinese

29 (18.8)

32 (17.6)

 

61 (18.2)

 Indian

15 (9.7)

30 (16.5)

 

45 (13.4)

 Others

12 (7.8)

8 (4.4)

 

20 (6)

Having a spouse

 Yes

113 (73.4)

127 (69.8)

0.467

240 (71.4)

 No (single / divorcee / widow / widower)

41 (26.6)

55 (30.2)

 

96 (28.6)

Living arrangement

 Living alone

24 (15.6)

29 (15.9)

0.930

53 (15.8)

 Living with other family members / caretakers

130 (84.4)

153 (84.1)

 

283 (84.2)

Previous education

 Secondary level and lower

101 (65.6)

104 (57.1)

0.118

205 (61)

 Tertiary level

53 (34.4)

78 (42.9)

 

131 (39)

Employment status

 Active

106 (68.8)

138 (75.8)

0.152

244 (72.6)

 Retired

48 (31.2)

44 (24.2)

 

92 (27.4)

Monthly income

 Less than RM 1000

105 (68.2)

92 (50.5)

0.001

197 (58.6)

 More than RM 1000

49 (31.8)

90 (49.5)

 

139 (41.4)

Diagnosed with a medical condition

 Yes

76 (49.4)

79 (43.4)

0.276

155 (46.1)

 No

78 (50.6)

103 (56.6)

 

181 (53.9)

Using at least one prescription medicine

 Yes

59 (38.3)

72 (39.6)

0.815

131 (39)

 No

95 (61.7)

110 (60.4)

 

205 (61)

Using at least one OTC medicine

 Yes

94 (61)

105 (57.7)

0.534

199 (59.2)

 No

60 (39)

77 (42.3)

 

137 (40.8)

Using at least one type of medicine (prescription or OTC)

 Yes

116 (75.3)

142 (78)

0.560

258 (76.8)

 No

38 (24.7)

40 (22)

 

78 (23.2)

Perceived health status

 Very poor - Fair

52 (33.8)

105 (57.7)

<  0.001

157 (46.7)

 Good - Excellent

102 (66.2)

77 (42.3)

179 (53.3)

Felt sick in the past month

 Never

36 (23.4)

69 (37.9)

0.004

105 (31.3)

 At least once

118 (76.6)

113 (62.1)

 

231 (68.8)

Physical exercise at least 20 min 3 times a week

 Yes

104 (67.5)

97 (53.3)

0.008

201 (59.8)

 No

50 (32.5)

85 (46.7)

 

135 (40.2)

Estimated number of fruit and vegetable servings daily

  ≤ 2

101 (65.6)

128 (70.3)

0.352

229 (68.2)

  ≥ 3

53 (34.4)

54 (29.7)

 

107 (31.8)

Number of meals skipped in the past week

 0–3

86 (55.8)

87 (47.8)

0.223

173 (51.5)

 4–6

47 (30.5)

59 (32.4)

 

106 (31.5)

 More than 6

21 (13.6)

36 (19.8)

 

57 (17)

Smoking history

 Yes

40 (26)

33 (18.1)

0.086

73 (21.7)

 No

114 (74)

149 (81.9)

 

263 (78.3)

Body mass indexc (mean ± SD)

27.24 ± 3.62

29.07 ± 5.17

<  0.001b

 
  1. OTC, over-the-counter; SD, standard deviation
  2. a Chi-squared test used unless stated otherwise
  3. b Independent samples t-test used
  4. c Calculated using self-reported weight and height (formula: BMI weight (kg)/[height (m)]2