Symptoms Based on Deficiency Syndrome in Traditional Chinese Medicine Might Be Predictor of Frailty in Elderly Community Dwellers

Table 2

The basic characteristics of the study subjects.

Variables	Frailty stage			value
	Nonfrailty group	Prefrailty group	Frailty group
	(n = 1455)	(n = 739)	(n = 55)
Basic information
Age	70 [67–74]	72 [69–77]	78 [70–82]	＜0.001
Sex (male)	677 [46.5%]	340 [46.0%]	18 [32.7%]	0.131
BMI	24.54 [22.58–26.56]	24.38 [22.03–26.67]	23.67 [21.84–27.63]	0.178
Waist line	84.00 [78.00–90.00]	85.00 [78.00–90.20]	88.50 [80.00–93.00]	0.008
Hip line	94.00 [89.78–98.40]	95.00 [90.00–100.00]	95.65 [90.03–102.00]	0.194
WHR	0.89 [0.86–0.93]	0.89 [0.86–0.93]	0.91 [0.87–0.97]	0.027
Marital status
Married	1326 [91.1%]	623 [84.3%]	42 [76.4%]	＜0.001
Unmarried	2 [0.1%]	6 [0.8%]	0 [0.0%]
Divorced	6 [0.4%]	6 [0.8%]	0 [0.0%]
Widowed	121 [8.3%]	104 [14.1%]	13 [23.6%]
Educational level
University diploma or above	158 [10.9%]	62 [8.4%]	4 [7.3%]	＜0.001
High school/technical school	267 [18.4%]	136 [18.4%]	4 [7.3%]
Junior high school	493 [33.9%]	216 [29.2%]	8 [14.5%]
Primary school	317 [21.8%]	164 [22.2%]	13 [23.6%]
Illiterate or semi-illiterate	220 [15.1%]	161 [21.8%]	26 [47.3%]
Living status
Living with spouse/children	1337 [91.9%]	641 [86.7%]	43 [78.2%]	＜0.001
Living alone	117 [8.0%]	92 [12.4%]	9 [16.4%]
Living in nursing home	1 [0.1%]	6 [0.8%]	3 [5.5%]
Residential floor
1/F	267 [18.4%]	186 [25.2%]	17 [30.9%]	0.001
≥2/F with elevator	187 [12.9%]	98 [13.3%]	8 [14.5%]
≥2/F without elevator	1001 [68.8%]	455 [61.6%]	30 [54.5%]
Residential area (suburban)	575 [39.5%]	274 [37.1%]	31 [56.4%]	0.016
Dietary habit
Prefer to meat	67 [4.6%]	40 [5.4%]	3 [5.5%]
Balanced diet	752 [51.7%]	388 [52.5%]	19 [34.5%]	0.002
Prefer to vegetables	635 [43.6%]	305 [41.3%]	31 [56.4%]
Vegan	1 [0.1%]	6 [0.8%]	2 [3.6%]
Exercise frequency
≥1 time/day	870 [59.8%]	419 [56.7%]	14 [25.5%]
≥1 time/week	151 [10.4%]	79 [10.7%]	10 [18.2%]	＜0.001
None or very little	434 [29.8%]	241 [32.6%]	31 [56.4%]
Exercise types
0	357 [24.5%]	188 [25.4%]	27 [49.1%]
1	1031 [70.9%]	531 [71.9%]	28 [50.9%]	0.001
2	63 [4.3%]	17 [2.3%]	0 [0.0%]
3	4 [0.3%]	3 [0.4%]	0 [0.0%]
Smoking
No	1048 [72.0%]	545 [73.7%]	47 [85.5%]
Ever drinking	169 [11.6%]	78 [10.6%]	5 [9.1%]	0.190
Current smoking	238 [16.4%]	116 [15.7%]	3 [5.5%]
Drinking
No	1090 [74.9%]	578 [78.2%]	50 [90.9%]
Ever drinking	91 [6.3%]	45 [6.1%]	2 [3.6%]	0.056
Little drinking	270 [18.6%]	115 [15.6%]	3 [5.5%]
Excessive drinking	4 [0.3%]	1 [0.1%]	0 [0.0%]

Data shown are median (interquartile range) or proportions (percentage). WHR: waist-to-hip ratio; 1/F: the first floor; 2/F: the second floor.