Table 1 Baseline characteristics of study participants by glucosamine use
|  | All participants (n = 494,814) | Use of glucosamine | |
|---|---|---|---|
|  | Yes (n = 94,259) | No (n = 400,555) | |
Age, mean (SD), years | 56.54 (8.09) | 59.08 (7.07) | 55.95 (8.20) |
Female | 269,380 (54.4) | 58,996 (62.6) | 210,384 (52.5) |
White ethnicity | 466,252 (94.2) | 90,306 (95.8) | 375,946 (93.9) |
With college or university degree | 160,409 (32.4) | 31,119 (33.0) | 129,290 (32.3) |
TDI, mean (SD) | -1.31 (3.09) | -1.79 (2.79) | -1.20 (3.14) |
Household income (£) |  |  |  |
 18,000 | 116,776 (23.6) | 21,044 (22.3) | 95,732 (23.9) |
 ≥ 18,000 | 378,038 (76.4) | 73,215 (77.7) | 304,823 (76.1) |
BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 27.43 (4.80) | 27.36 (4.65) | 27.45 (4.83) |
Physical activity (min/week) | Â | Â | Â |
 150 | 228,109 (46.1) | 38,269 (40.6) | 189,840 (47.4) |
 ≥ 150 | 266,705 (53.9) | 55,990 (59.4) | 210,715 (52.6) |
Fruit intake (servings/day) | Â | Â | Â |
 4 | 337,958 (68.3) | 56,085 (59.5) | 281,873 (70.4) |
 ≥ 4 | 156,856 (31.7) | 38,174 (40.5) | 118,682 (29.6) |
Vegetable intake(servings/day) | Â | Â | Â |
 4 | 320,640 (34.8) | 57,027 (60.5) | 263,613 (65.8) |
 ≥ 4 | 174,174 (35.2) | 37,232 (39.5) | 136,942 (34.2) |
Alcohol consumption frequency | Â | Â | Â |
 3 times a week | 280,147 (56.6) | 49,736 (52.8) | 230,411 (57.5) |
 ≥ 3 times a week | 214,667 (43.4) | 44,523 (47.2) | 170,144 (42.5) |
Smoking status | Â | Â | Â |
 Never smoker | 271,869 (54.9) | 52,132 (55.3) | 219,737 (54.9) |
 Ex-smoker | 170,903 (34.5) | 36,013 (38.2) | 134,890 (33.7) |
 Current smoker | 52,042 (10.5) | 6114 (6.5) | 45,928 (11.5) |
Personal medical condition | Â | Â | Â |
 Hypertension | 279,569 (56.5) | 54,670 (58.0) | 224,899 (56.1) |
 CVD | 28,699 (5.8) | 4147 (4.4) | 24,552 (6.1) |
 Cancer | 39,090 (7.9) | 7823 (8.3) | 31,267 (7.8) |
 Arthritis | 23,256 (4.7) | 7729 (8.2) | 15,527 (3.9) |
 Emphysema or chronic bronchitis | 8262 (1.7) | 1325 (1.4) | 6937 (1.7) |
 Diabetes | 25,945 (5.2) | 3450 (3.7) | 22,495 (5.6) |
 High cholesterol | 86,314 (17.4) | 15,972 (16.9) | 70,342 (17.6) |
 Digestive disease | 1484 (0.3) | 188 (0.2) | 1296 (0.3) |
 Chronic kidney disease | 10,391 (2.1) | 1885 (2.0) | 8506 (2.1) |
 Chronic liver disease | 7422 (1.5) | 1225 (1.3) | 6197 (1.5) |
 Depression | 75,706 (15.3) | 14,704 (15.6) | 61,002 (15.2) |
 Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, mean (SD) | 2.1 (1.7) | 2.3 (1.8) | 2.0 (1.7) |
Medication or supplementation | Â | Â | Â |
 Antihypertensive drugs | 88,208 (17.8) | 16,897 (17.9) | 71,311 (17.8) |
 Insulin treatment | 4839 (1.0) | 594 (0.6) | 4245 (1.1) |
 Use of statin | 55,913 (11.3) | 10,839 (11.5) | 45,074 (11.3) |
 Use of opioids | 26,719 (5.4) | 5372 (5.7) | 21,347 (5.3) |
 Use of aspirin | 69,216 (14.0) | 13,299 (14.1) | 55,917 (14.0) |
 Use of non-aspirin NSAIDs | 72,939 (14.7) | 17,713 (18.8) | 55,226 (13.8) |
 Use of chondroitin | 6432 (1.3) | 5844 (6.2) | 588 (0.1) |
 Use of vitamin supplementation | 157,109 (31.8) | 52,388 (55.6) | 104,721 (26.1) |
 Use of minerals and other dietary supplementation | 184,233 (37.2) | 65,352 (69.3) | 118,881 (29.7) |
Memory, mean (SD), no. of errors | 4.25 (3.32) | 4.28 (3.45) | 4.23 (3.34) |
Reaction time, mean (SD), ms | 558 (118) | 562 (125) | 557 (120) |
APOE*E4 carrier | 135,883 (28.3) | 25,609 (28.0) | 110,274 (28.4) |