Table 1 Characteristics of women aged 46–54 years participating in the RHINE study.
| Centre | Study population (N) | Median age (years) | Median BMI (kg/m2) | Current smokers (%) | Menopausal* n (%) | HRT n (%) | Asthma† (%) | Wheeze‡ (%) | Hay fever§ (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aarhus | 328 | 49 | 23.5 | 34 | 92 (32) | 37 (11) | 9.2 | 17 | 23 |
| Reykjavik | 323 | 49 | 24.8 | 27 | 145 (51) | 157 (49) | 8.1 | 12 | 23 |
| Bergen | 345 | 49 | 23.4 | 39 | 191 (57) | 103 (30) | 7.3 | 22 | 23 |
| Gothenburg | 326 | 49 | 24.6 | 34 | 113 (43) | 78 (24) | 9 | 25 | 27 |
| Umeå | 398 | 49 | 24.5 | 24 | 154 (41) | 79 (20) | 8.1 | 21 | 22 |
| Uppsala | 375 | 49 | 24 | 19 | 123 (35) | 81 (22) | 6.8 | 19 | 26 |
| Tartu | 111 | 47 | 24.6 | 24 | 26 (24) | 5 (4.5) | 3.6 | 23 | 25 |
| Total | 2206 | 49 | 24.2 | 29 | 844 (42) | 540 (24) | 7.8 | 20 | 24 |
*Menopause as defined as answering “yes” to the question: “Have you reached the menopause (6 or more months since your last menstruation)?”.
†Current asthma medication and/or asthma attacks in the last 12 months.
‡Wheeze in the last 12 months.
§Current hay fever or nasal allergies.