Table 2.
Distributions of Covariates for Male Dentists (DTs) and Female Dental Assistants (DAs)
| DTs (N = 157) | DAs (N = 84) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous variables | Range | Mean | SD | Range | Mean | SD |
| Exposures | ||||||
| Urinary mercury (μg/L) | 0–15.6 | 2.5a | 2.1 | 0–9.8 | 1.6a | 1.7 |
| Chronic Mercury Index | 0–116.8 | 28.1a | 21.1 | 0–50.8 | 15.5a | 11.2 |
| Covariates | ||||||
| Age at evaluation | 28–65 | 48.9a | 7.7 | 20–56 | 36.5a | 8.5 |
| Vocabulary | 7–11 | 10.6a | 0.9 | 4–11 | 8.2a | 2.0 |
| Alcohol drinks/week | 0–20 | 3.8a | 4.0 | 0–20 | 2.4a | 2.9 |
| Cigarettes: n/day | 0–10 | 0.11a | 0.8 | 0–10 | 0.7a | 2.2 |
| Cigarettes: pack-years | 0–25 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 0–30 | 1.6 | 4.2 |
| DTs (N = 157) | DAs (N = 84) | |||||
|
|
|
|||||
| Dichotomous covariates | n | % | n | % | ||
|
| ||||||
| Self-reported | ||||||
| Alcohol problem—ever told | 6 | 3.8 | 1 | 1.2 | ||
| Physical impairment | 9 | 5.7 | 7 | 8.3 | ||
| Take allergy medications | 27 | 17.2a | 30 | 35.7a | ||
| Medical history of: | ||||||
| Cancer | 14 | 8.9a | 2 | 2.4a | ||
| Physical problems | 97 | 61.8 | 45 | 53.6 | ||
| Emotional problems | 9 | 5.7 | 8 | 9.5 | ||
| Brain problems | 9 | 5.7 | 6 | 7.1 | ||
| Sensory problems | 19 | 12.1 | 12 | 14.3 | ||
| Circulatory problems | 26 | 16.6 | 11 | 13.1 | ||
| Kidney problems | 7 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.8 | ||
| Endocrine problems | 8 | 5.1 | 8 | 9.5 | ||
| Respiratory problems | 20 | 12.7 | 14 | 16.7 | ||
| Digestive problems | 27 | 17.2 | 17 | 20.2 | ||
| Immune system problems | 5 | 3.2a | 11 | 13.1a | ||
a
Gender differences p < .05.