Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants by intervention group a
| Egg group (n 250) | Control group (n 250) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant characteristics and anthropometric status | Median | IQR | Median | IQR |
| Age, months | 6·46 | 6·11, 7·66 | 6·57 | 6·14, 7·52 |
| Girls | ||||
| n | 133 | 125 | ||
| % | 53·2 | 50·0 | ||
| Breastfeeding rate | ||||
| n | 151 | 157 | ||
| % | 60·4 | 62·8 | ||
| Gestational age, weeks | 39 | 38, 40 | 39 | 38, 40 |
| Low birthweight (< 2·5 kg) | ||||
| n | 38 | 46 | ||
| % | 15·2 | 18·4 | ||
| Weight, kg | 7·60 | 6·79, 8·31 | 7·63 | 6·93, 8·42 |
| Length, cm | 65·0 | 63·0, 67·05 | 65·07 | 63·30, 67·0 |
| Mid-upper arm circumference, cm | 14·85 | 14·0, 15·65 | 15·0 | 13·85, 15·85 |
| Head circumference, cm | 43·40 | 42·30, 44·15 | 43·23 | 42·0, 44·40 |
| LAZ | −1·21 | –2·01, –0·55 | −1·13 | –1·87, –0·52 |
| WAZ | −0·31 | –1·31, 0·38 | −0·29 | –1·23, 0·56 |
| WLZ | 0·51 | –0·15, 1·33 | 0·59 | –0·24, 1·39 |
| MUACZ | 0·65 | –0·11, 1·32 | 0·67 | –0·28, 1·47 |
| HCZ | 0·02 | –0·66, 0·66 | −0·05 | –0·70, 0·61 |
| n | % | n | % | |
| Stunting | 63 | 25·2 | 56 | 22·4 |
| Underweight | 26 | 10·4 | 23 | 9·2 |
| Wasting | 4 | 1·6 | 2 | 0·8 |
| Overweight (WLZ > 2) | 29 | 11·6 | 40 | 16·0 |
| Median | IQR | Median | IQR | |
| Iron status | ||||
| Hb, g/dl a | 11·60 | 10·80, 12·20 | 11·50 | 10·80, 12·20 |
| Anaemia (Hb < 11 g/dl) | ||||
| n | 71 | 75 | ||
| % | 28·40 | 30·0 | ||
| C-reactive protein | 0·47 | 0·17, 1·87 | 0·39 | 0·15, 1·47 |
| α 1-glycoprotein | 0·94 | 0·70, 1·50 | 0·97 | 0·73, 1·32 |
| Plasma ferritin (PF), μg/l b | 38·75 | 21·84, 62·95 | 38·04 | 22·28, 66·44 |
| Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), mg/l c | 7·77 | 6·07, 10·61 | 8·03 | 6·22, 11·01 |
| Iron deficiency (ID), (PF < 12 μg/l) | ||||
| n | 20 | 19 | ||
| % | 8·6 | 8·9 | ||
| IDA (PF < 12 μg/l and Hb < 11 g/dl) | ||||
| n | 10 | 11 | ||
| % | 4·3 | 5·1 | ||
| IDE (sTfR > 8·3 mg/l) | ||||
| n | 107 | 89 | ||
| % | 45·9 | 41·6 | ||
| Mother/Caregiver characteristics | ||||
| Age, years | 29 | 23, 36 | 27 | 23, 33 |
| BMI, kg/m | 28·33 | 23·21, 33·64 | 27·15 | 22·86, 33·23 |
| Education (Grade 10 or higher) | ||||
| n | 194 | 209 | ||
| % | 77·6 | 83·6 | ||
| Any marriage (Traditional or by law) | ||||
| n | 34 | 22 | ||
| % | 13·6 | 8·8 | ||
| Household Characteristics | ||||
| Number of people in the household | 5 | 4, 7 | 5 | 4, 7 |
| Number of primary school children | 1 | 0, 2 | 1 | 0, 2 |
| Number of children below 5 years | 1 | 1, 2 | 1 | 1, 2 |
| Number of people employed/receiving c salary | 1 | 0, 1 | 1 | 0, 1 |
| Number of people receiving social grants d | 3 | 1, 4 | 2 | 2, 3 |
| Flush toilet e | ||||
| n | 228 | 224 | ||
| % | 91·2 | 89·6 | ||
| Own tap water | ||||
| n | 103 | 113 | ||
| % | 41·2 | 45·2 | ||
LAZ: length-for-age Z-score, WAZ: weight-for-age Z-score, WLZ: weight-for-length Z-score, MUACZ: Mid-upper arm circumference-for-age Z-score, HCZ: head circumference-for-age Z-score, IDA: iron deficiency anaemia, IDE: iron deficiency erythropoiesis.
a
Corrected for altitude using a factor of –0.2(27).
b
Corrected for inflammation using the BRINDA method (31, 32).
c
Values presented as median and interquartile range and all such values, unless specified.
d
Includes child, old age pension and disability grant.
e
Both inside and outside the house.