Selected characteristics* of the participants in the Endoscopic Screening for Esophageal Cancer in China (ESECC) trial in rural Hua County, China, 2012–2016
| Variables† | Screening arm | Control arm | P value |
| n (%) | n (%) | ||
| n | 17 151 | 16 797 | |
| Response rate (%) | 106.2 | 103.6 | |
| Age | |||
| Median (quartile) | 57(50; 62) | 57(50; 62) | 0.115 |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 8395 (48.9) | 8148 (48.5) | 0.419 |
| Female | 8756 (51.1) | 8649 (51.5) | |
| Family history of esophageal cancer‡ | |||
| 0 | 13 914 (89.2) | 15 230 (90.8) | <0.001 |
| 1 | 1370 (8.8) | 1326 (7.9) | |
| 2 | 248 (1.6) | 168 (1.0) | |
| >2 | 70 (0.4) | 40 (0.2) | |
| Body mass index§ | |||
| Median (quartile) | 24.9 (22.8; 27.5) | 25.4 (23.2; 27.8) | <0.001 |
| Education | |||
| Middle school or above | 6695 (42.9) | 7651 (45.6) | <0.001 |
| Primary school or below | 8907 (57.1) | 9113 (54.4) | |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 14 561 (93.3) | 15 798 (94.2) | 0.001 |
| Unmarried | 1041 (6.7) | 966 (5.8) | |
| Family size§ | |||
| >2 | 10 094 (64.7) | 11 434 (68.2) | <0.001 |
| ≤2 | 5502 (35.3) | 5326 (31.8) | |
| Household income per capita§ | |||
| Median(quartile) | 3000(1500; 5000) | 2000(1250; 4000) | <0.001 |
| Cigarette smoking¶ | |||
| No | 10 158 (65.1) | 11 047 (65.9) | 0.135 |
| Yes | 5444 (34.9) | 5717 (34.1) | |
| Alcohol drinking** | |||
| No | 11 812 (75.7) | 12 738 (76.0) | 0.562 |
| Yes | 3790 (24.3) | 4026 (24.0) | |
| Coal stove for heating | |||
| No | 9877 (63.3) | 10 121 (60.4) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 5725 (36.7) | 6643 (39.6) | |
| Type of fuel used for cooking | |||
| Only gas, electricity | 2839 (18.2) | 3058 (18.2) | 0.916 |
| Coal, firewood | 12 763 (81.8) | 13 706 (81.8) | |
| Fume exposure in kitchen | |||
| No | 4090 (26.2) | 6742 (40.2) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 11 512 (73.8) | 10 022 (59.8) | |
| Eating rapidly | |||
| No | 2453 (15.7) | 3040 (18.1) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 13 149 (84.3) | 13 724 (81.9) | |
| High temperature food preference | |||
| No | 1798 (11.5) | 2246 (13.4) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 13 804 (88.5) | 14 518 (86.6) | |
| Ingestion of preserved food | |||
| ≤ 1 per week | 9984 (64.0) | 11 075 (66.1) | <0.001 |
| > 1 per week | 5618 (36.0) | 5689 (33.9) | |
| Ingestion of leftovers | |||
| ≤ 1 per week | 10 012 (64.2) | 9815 (58.5) | <0.001 |
| > 1 per week | 5590 (35.8) | 6949 (41.5) | |
*Variables that were not associated with oesophageal precursor lesions in univariate logistic regression analysis are not shown, including job type, pesticide exposure, main source of drinking water, tea drinking, regularity of eating, intake of vegetables, fruit, meat, milk and eggs, intake of hard food, spicy food and fried food.
†Age and gender were compared for all individuals enrolled, but analysis were limited to individuals who completed the interview for other variables.
‡Number of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cases in the immediate family and relatives within three generations.
§Missing values were not included in the analysis.
¶Cigarette smoking was defined as a smoking history of at least 18 packs per year.
**Alcohol drinking was defined as drinking Chinese liquor (containing >40% alcohol) at least twice a week for ≥12 months (consumption of other kinds of alcoholic beverages such as beer and red wine is very rare in the study area).