Effects of Green Tea Catechins and Theanine on Preventing Influenza Infection among Healthcare Workers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of study participants

	Catechin/Theanine group	Placebo group
Characteristics	(n = 97)	(n = 99)	P Value
Age, mean (SD) [range], y	42.1 (12.4) [21-65]	43.2 (13.1) [22-69]	0.63^a
Sex, No. (%)
Male	21 (21.6)	23 (23.2)
Female	76 (78.4)	76 (76.8)	0.86^b
BMI, mean (SD) [range]	21.6 (2.8) [15.9-30.9]	22.7 (3.2) [16.6-33.3]	0.01^c
Vaccination for influenza virus, No. (%)	91 (93.8)	91 (91.9)	> 0.99^b
Hand-washing^d, No. (%)	72 (74.2)	72 (72.7)	0.87^b
Facemasks^d, No. (%)	15 (15.5)	20 (20.2)	0.46^b
Gargling^d, No. (%)	71 (73.2)	68 (68.7)	0.53^b
Smoking, No. (%)
Yes	29 (29.9)	29 (29.3)
Past	15 (15.5)	15 (15.2)	> 0.99^b
No	53 (54.6)	55 (55.6)
Alcohol consumption, No. (%)
Yes	49 (50.5)	56 (56.6)
Past	3 (3.1)	4 (4.0)	0.66^b
No	45 (46.4)	39 (39.4)
Tea consumption, mean (SD), mL/day	494.3 (415.6)	481.3 (374.3)	0.95^a

Abbreviation: BMI, body mass index.
^a P value based on Wilcoxon rank sum test.
^b P value based on Fisher's exact test.
^c P value based on Student's t test
^d The preventive measures such as hand-washing, facemask application, or gargling was performed 4 days per week or more during the study period.

ISSN: 2662-7671