The Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating Patients with Leukemia
Table 1
Sociodemographic factors of pediatric and adult patients with leukemia according to use of TCM.
Characteristic
Pediatric (,355)
Adult (,208)
TCM users
TCM nonusers
Adjusted OR‡ (95% CI)
TCM users
TCM nonusers
Adjusted OR‡ (95% CI)
%
%
%
%
Number of patients
292
2,063
936
9,272
Age, years
0–6
139
47.60
1,016
49.25
1.00
7–12
89
30.48
480
23.27
1.10 (0.81–1.50)
13–18
64
21.92
567
27.48
0.64 (0.46–0.89)
19–40
274
29.27
2,199
23.72
1.00
41–60
379
40.38
3,012
32.48
0.95 (0.80–1.13)
61–80
284
30.34
4,061
43.80
0.60 (0.48–0.70)
Means (SD)
8.03
(5.07)
8.41
(5.65)
51.26
(15.67)
55.39
(17.24)
Gender
Female
129
44.18
843
40.86
1.00
428
45.73
3,740
40.34
1.00
Male
163
55.82
1,220
59.14
0.83 (0.64–1.07)
508
54.27
5,532
59.66
0.86 (0.74–0.99)
TCM use one year prior to leukemia diagnosis
TCM nonusers
180
61.64
1,523
73.82
1.00
437
46.69
6,048
65.23
1.00
TCM users
112
38.36
540
26.18
1.62 (1.23–2.13)
499
53.31
3,224
34.77
1.97 (1.71–2.26)
Insured amount (NT/month)
<20,000
286
97.95
2,035
98.64
1.00
610
65.17
6,736
72.65
1.00
20,000–39,999
6
2.05
27
1.31
2.02 (0.79–5.15)
197
21.05
1,613
17.40
1.23 (1.02–1.47)
40,000–59,999
0
0.00
1
0.05
—
101
10.79
735
7.93
1.48 (1.15–1.90)
≥60,000
—
—
—
—
—
28
2.99
188
2.03
1.65 (1.08–2.55)
Urbanization
Level 1 (highest)
78
26.71
564
27.34
1.00
278
29.70
2,521
27.19
1.00
Level 2
97
33.22
655
31.75
0.85 (0.59–1.24)
279
29.81
2,698
29.10
0.86 (0.70–1.04)
Level 3
48
16.44
371
17.98
0.52 (0.32–0.82)
149
15.92
1,625
17.53
0.67 (0.53–0.85)
Level 4
45
15.41
296
14.35
0.63 (0.39–1.02)
134
14.32
1,329
14.34
0.74 (0.58–0.96)
Level 5 (lowest)
24
8.22
177
8.58
0.63 (0.34–1.14)
96
10.26
1,098
11.84
0.69 (0.51–0.94)
Residential area
Northern
32
10.96
304
14.74
1.00
85
9.08
1,245
13.43
1.00
Taipei
75
25.68
750
36.35
0.76 (0.46–1.24)
274
29.27
229
34.83
1.01 (0.77–1.34)
Central
104
35.62
306
14.83
3.33 (2.12–5.23)
265
28.31
1,623
17.51
2.41 (1.85–3.14)
Southern
36
12.33
324
15.71
1.17 (0.69–1.99)
163
17.41
1,372
14.80
1.95 (1.47–2.59)
Eastern
3
1.03
42
2.04
0.73 (0.21–2.58)
27
2.88
261
2.82
1.78 (1.11–2.84)
Kao-Ping
42
14.38
337
16.34
1.16 (0.70–1.92)
122
13.03
1,541
16.62
1.13 (0.84–1.52)
Insured unit
Government, school employees
39
13.59
176
9.30
1.00
130
13.92
1,056
11.42
1.00
Private enterprise employees
145
50.52
916
48.39
0.70 (0.47–1.05)
404
43.25
3,533
38.21
0.91 (0.73–1.13)
Occupational member
37
12.89
342
18.07
0.47 (0.28–0.77)
198
21.20
1,973
21.34
0.87 (0.68–1.12)
Farmers, fishermen
36
12.54
226
11.94
0.69 (0.40–1.18)
141
15.10
1,827
19.76
0.80 (0.60–1.07)
Low-income households and veterans registered in local government agency
30
10.45
233
12.31
0.58 (0.34–0.98)
61
6.53
857
9.27
0.73 (0.52–1.02)
Number of days taking TCM, means (SD)
184
(328)
—
—
107
(254)
—
—
OPD visits for TCM, means (SD)
20.3
(35.3)
—
—
10.5
(22.8)
—
—
Cancer subtype
Lymphoid leukemia
205
70.21
1,377
66.75
1.00
217
23.18
1,896
20.45
1.00
Myeloid leukemia
79
27.05
609
29.52
1.10 (0.83–1.44)
649
69.34
6,670
71.94
0.85 (0.72–1.00)
Uncertain
8
2.74
77
3.73
0.88 (0.42–1.85)
70
7.48
706
7.61
0.87 (0.65–1.15)
ICD-9-CM: lymphoid leukemia, 204.xx; myeloid leukemia, 205.xx. TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine; OR: odd ratio; SD: standard deviation; CI: confidence interval; OPD: outpatient department. , , and . ‡Adjusted ORs were from the model considering age, gender, visit one year ago, insured amount, urbanization, residential area, and insured unit.
