Table 1.
Participant characteristics
| Demographic measure | Preterm (n = 217) | Term (n = 115) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Male | 114/217 (52.5%) | 64/115 (55.7%) |
| Female | 103/217 (47.5%) | 51/115 (44.3%) | |
| Birth GA (weeks)—median (range) | 29.29 (22.14–33.0) | 39.71 (37.0–42.14) | |
| Birthweight (g)—median (range) | 1200 (370–2510) | 3450 (2346–4670) | |
| Birthweight z-score—median (range) | 0.10 (-3.13–2.07) | 0.43 (-2.3–2.96) | |
| SIMD rank—median (range)A | 3720 (6–6966) | 5344 (267–6967) | |
| Maternal ethnicity | African | 1/217 (0.5%) | 0/115 (0%) |
| Bangladeshi | 0/217 (0%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Caribbean | 0/217 (0%) | 0/115 (0%) | |
| Chinese | 0/217 (0%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Indian | 3/217 (2.4%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Pakistani | 4/214 (1.8%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| White | 195/217 (89.9%) | 106/115 (92.2%) | |
| White/Asian | 2/217 (0.9%) | 0/115 (0%) | |
| White/Black African | 0/217 (0%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| White/Black Caribbean | 1/217 (0.5%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Other AsianB | 1/217 (0.5%) | 2/115 (1.7%) | |
| Other ethnic groupC | 6/217 (2.8%) | 0/115 (0%) | |
| Other mixed ethnic backgroundD | 4/217 (1.8%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Maternal education | None | 7/208 (3.4%) | 0/115 (0%) |
| Basic high school qualification (1–4) | 5/208 (2.4%) | 2/115 (1.7%) | |
| Basic high school qualification (≥5) | 8/208 (3.8%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Advanced high school qualification | 32/208 (15.4%) | 3/115 (2.6%) | |
| College qualification | 46/208 (22.1%) | 8/115 (7.0%) | |
| University undergraduate | 61/208 (29.3%) | 50/115 (43.5%) | |
| University postgraduate | 49/208 (23.6%) | 51/115 (44.3%) | |
| Maternal occupation | Unemployed | 12/213 (5.6%) | 1/115 (0.9%) |
| Homemaker | 10/213 (4.7%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Still in full time education | 9/213 (4.2%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| Sheltered employment | 1/213 (0.5%) | 0/115 (0%) | |
| Unskilled | 11/213 (5.2%) | 3/115 (2.6%) | |
| Partly skilled | 7/213 (3.3%) | 2/115 (1.7%) | |
| Manual skilled | 25/213 (11.7%) | 9/115 (7.8%) | |
| Non-manual skilled | 44/213 (20.7%) | 11/115 (9.6%) | |
| Professional | 94/213 (44.1%) | 87/115 (75.7%) | |
| Sample GA (weeks)—median (range) | 40.57 (36.57–45.86) | 42.0 (39.86–47.14) | |
| Batch | 1 | 92/217 (42.4%) | 46/115 (40.0%) |
| 2 | 62/217 (28.6%) | 56/115 (48.7%) | |
| 3 | 32/217 (14.7%) | 1/115 (0.9%) | |
| 4 | 31/217 (14.3%) | 12/115 (10.4%) | |
| Maternal smoking | 41/214 (19.2%) | 3/115 (2.6%) | |
| Maternal diabetes | 12/217 (5.5%) | 6/115 (5.2%) | |
| Maternal obesity | 44/212 (20.8%) | 19/114 (16.7%) | |
| Mode of delivery | Vaginal delivery | 72/217 (33.2%) | 43/115 (37.4%) |
| Instrumental delivery | 4/217 (1.8%) | 17/115 (14.8%) | |
| Caesarean delivery | 141/217 (65.0%) | 55/115 (47.8%) | |
A Preterm n = 216, term n = 115, B “Other Asian” includes Sri Lankan (n = 1), Malay (n = 1), C “Other ethnic group” includes Arab (n = 1), Iraqi (n = 1), white Bulgarian (n = 1), Fijian (n = 1), Japanese (n = 1), Hong Kong (n = 1), D “Other mixed ethnic background” includes Pakistani/Scottish (n = 2), British/Arab (n = 1), Sri Lankan/Black (n = 1), Sri Lankan/Indian (n = 1)
GA Gestational age, SIMD Scottish index of multiple deprivation