Table 2.
Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in early and mid-pregnancy across characteristics of pregnant women in Lima, Peru (N=527).
| Characteristics | N | HCC early-pregnancy | P | N | HCC mid-pregnancy | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |||||
| Sociodemographic traits | ||||||
| Maternal age (years) | ||||||
| ≤ 19 | 13 | 3.24(2.32) | 0.01 | 13 | 5.39(3.54) | 0.12 |
| 20-29 | 251 | 3.32(3.11) | 253 | 4.59(3.26) | ||
| 30-34 | 132 | 4.25(3.69) | 132 | 5.28(3.47) | ||
| ≥ 35 | 129 | 4.02(3.85) | 129 | 4.86(3.72) | ||
| Gestational week | ||||||
| < 25 weeks | 97 | 3.56(2.64) | 0.38 | 97 | 5.00(3.33) | 0.27 |
| 25-26 weeks | 124 | 3.62(3.52) | 125 | 4.67(3.33) | ||
| ≥ 27 weeks | 302 | 4.03(3.82) | 303 | 5.17(3.79) | ||
| Pre-pregnancy BMI | ||||||
| < 25 (normal weight) | 244 | 3.34(3.13) | <0.001 | 244 | 4.41(3.08) | <0.001 |
| 25 – 29.9 (overweight) | 75 | 3.90(3.58) | 75 | 5.13(3.85) | ||
| ≥ 30 (obese) | 188 | 4.89(4.15) | 190 | 5.86(3.45) | ||
| Smoking during pregnancy | ||||||
| No | 523 | 3.72(3.46) | 0.79 | 525 | 4.84(3.44) | 0.59 |
| Yes | 2 | 4.45(3.6) | 2 | 6.38(4.04) | ||
| Alcohol during pregnancy | ||||||
| No | 514 | 3.70(3.47) | 0.03 | 516 | 4.81(3.44) | 0.06 |
| Yes | 11 | 4.57(2.18) | 11 | 6.64(3.31) | ||
| Perceived Health in pregnancy | ||||||
| Good | 268 | 3.65(3.33) | 0.35 | 269 | 4.79(3.53) | 0.36 |
| Poor | 257 | 3.80(3.58) | 258 | 4.91(3.35) | ||
| Food insecurity | ||||||
| No | 166 | 3.48(2.92) | 0.49 | 167 | 4.69(3.22) | 0.88 |
| Yes | 359 | 3.83(3.67) | 360 | 4.92(3.54) | ||
| Family history of diabetes | ||||||
| No | 22 | 3.72(3.58) | 0.85 | 22 | 4.82(3.64) | 0.65 |
| Yes | 294 | 3.73(3.32) | 295 | 4.88(3.16) | ||
| Don’t know | 209 | 3.66(3.04) | 210 | 4.89(3.37) | ||
| Child sex | ||||||
| Female | 215 | 3.54(2.69) | 0.45 | 215 | 4.94(3.65) | 0.86 |
| Male | 275 | 3.85(4.04) | 277 | 4.82(3.36) | ||
| Hair characteristics | ||||||
| Hair color | ||||||
| Black | 395 | 3.43(2.87) | 0.16 | 396 | 4.74(3.35) | 0.66 |
| Brown | 86 | 4.57(4.87) | 86 | 5.19(4.03) | ||
| Other | 2 | 2.77(0.50) | 2 | 5.47(4.51) | ||
| Natural hair structure | ||||||
| Curly | 25 | 2.76(2.01) | 0.06 | 25 | 3.86(2.53) | 0.1 |
| Straight | 458 | 3.68(3.39) | 459 | 4.87(3.52) | ||
| Hair tinting | ||||||
| No | 289 | 3.66(3.37) | 0.86 | 290 | 4.79(3.26) | 0.9 |
| Yes | 194 | 3.58(3.29) | 194 | 4.87(3.79) | ||
| Hair dyeing | ||||||
| No | 478 | 3.62(3.34) | 0.31 | 479 | 4.81(3.47) | 0.74 |
| Yes | 5 | 4.57(2.38) | 5 | 5.86(4.44) | ||
| GDM and glycemic traits | ||||||
| Gestational diabetes | ||||||
| GDM | 121 | 3.89(3.43) | 0.34 | 122 | 5.02(3.42) | 0.44 |
| Controls | 404 | 3.67(3.46) | 405 | 4.80(3.45) | ||
| Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | ||||||
| < 92 mg/dl | 413 | 3.68(3.48) | 0.34 | 414 | 4.83(3.53) | 0.64 |
| ≥ 92 mg/dl | 112 | 3.86(3.36) | 113 | 4.90(3.11) | ||
| Glucose-1h (mg/dL) | ||||||
| < 180 mg/dl | 507 | 3.72(3.46) | 0.72 | 509 | 4.81(3.39) | 0.2 |
| ≥180 mg/dl | 18 | 3.87(3.35) | 18 | 5.87(4.63) | ||
| Glucose-2h (mg/dL) | ||||||
| < 153 mg/dl | 514 | 3.71(3.44) | 0.48 | 516 | 4.82(3.38) | 0.27 |
| ≥ 153 mg/dl | 11 | 4.42(3.96) | 11 | 6.37(5.59) | ||
| Fasting insulin (μIU/mL) | ||||||
| 0.26-3.27 | 110 | 2.96(3.10) | 0.01 | 110 | 3.89(3.31) | 0.01 |
| 3.29-5.28 | 108 | 3.50(3.90) | 109 | 4.21(2.72) | ||
| 5.31-45.57 | 108 | 3.80(3.41) | 109 | 4.70(2.90) | ||
| HOMA-IR | ||||||
| 0.05-0.66 | 110 | 2.87(2.86) | 0.01 | 110 | 3.75(2.82) | 0.02 |
| 0.67-1.13 | 108 | 3.69(4.10) | 109 | 4.47(3.22) | ||
| 1.14-9.11 | 108 | 3.70(3.37) | 109 | 4.58(2.89) | ||
| HOMA-B | ||||||
| 5.59-52.86 | 109 | 2.69(1.65) | 0.03 | 109 | 3.55(2.09) | 0.01 |
| 53.43-102.81 | 109 | 3.82(4.59) | 110 | 4.76(3.71) | ||
| 103.08-911.32 | 108 | 3.73(3.50) | 109 | 4.49(2.85) |
Complete data for HCC in early and mid-pregnancy was available in N=525 and 527 women, respectively. Total sample may be lower for some variables due to missingness (gestational week n=2, BMI n=13, child sex=35, hair characteristics n=43). Fasting insulin and HOMA scores were available for a subset of 328 women with HCC data. BMI: body mass index, HOMA-IR: homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, HOMA-B: homeostasis model assessment for β-cell function, SD: standard deviation. P-value difference in the mean of log-transformed HCC values in pregnancy across maternal characteristics was calculated using a student’s t-test (binary variables) or an ANOVA test (categorical ordinal variables).