Table 1: Comparison of baseline descriptives, side effects and treatment responses in both groups.
| Characteristics | Group I (n = 367) | Group II (n = 149) | p-value |
| Age | 44 (17-88) | 48 (22-84) | 0.041* |
| Male gender | 61 (22.8%) | 23 (15.4%) | 0.071 |
| Etiology | |||
| Pregnancy | 5 (1.9%) | 5 (3.4%) | |
| GIS | 125 (46.8%) | 62 (41.6%) | |
| GUS | 40 (15.0%) | 28 (18.8%) | |
| Malignancy | 16 (6.0%) | 9 (6.0%) | |
| Nutritional | 10 (3.7%) | 8 (5.4%) | |
| Poor oral intake | 1 (0.4%) | 0 (0) | |
| Other | 70 (26.2%) | 37 (34.8%) | |
| Chronic renal failure | 62 (23.2%) | 30 (20.1%) | 0.467 |
| Bariatric surgery | 13 (4.9%) | 10 (6.7%) | 0.430 |
| Side effects | 13 (4.9%) | 4 (2.7%) | Hemoglobin increase ≥ 2 g/dl |
| Hemoglobin increase ≥ 2 g/dl | 167 (62.5%) | 119 (79.9%) | < 0.001* |
| Hemoglobin increase ≥ 3 g/dl | 118 (44.2%) | 81 (54.4%) | 0.047* |
(Hint: Data expressed as median (min-max) and n (%); *: statistically significant at p < 0.05); (GIS: gastrointestinal system; GUS: genitourinary system).