TABLE 2.
Participant characteristics
| Characteristic | Boys | Girls | P* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, % (95% CI) (1736 boys, 1799 girls)† | |||
| 9 years | 34.1 (31.6–36.8) | 33.9 (31.3–36.6) | 0.913 |
| 13 years | 32.4 (29.9–35.0) | 31.9 (29.3–34.5) | |
| 16 years | 33.5 (30.9–36.1) | 34.2 (31.6–36.9) | |
| French Canadian, % (95% CI) (1736 boys, 1799 girls) | 80.5 (78.3–82.6) | 77.1 (74.7–79.4) | 0.034 |
| Household income category, % (95% CI) (1371 boys, 1447 girls) | |||
| Very poor/poor | 16.5 (14.3–18.9) | 16.7 (14.5–19.2) | 0.712 |
| Middle class inferior | 30.8 (28.0–33.7) | 28.8 (26.0–31.7) | |
| Middle class superior | 35.0 (32.1–38.1) | 37.2 (34.2–40.2) | |
| Superior | 17.7 (15.4–20.2) | 17.3 (15.0–19.8) | |
| Smoker, % (95% CI) (1736 boys, 1799 girls) | 15.4 (13.5–17.5) | 20.4 (18.3–22.7) | 0.0008 |
| BMI category‡, % (95% CI) (1736 boys, 1799 girls) | |||
| 9-year-olds | |||
| Overweight | 14.5 (11.4–18.1) | 13.5 (10.4–17.0) | 0.829 |
| Obese | 9.3 (6.8–12.4) | 8.6 (6.1–11.6) | |
| 13-year-olds | |||
| Overweight | 14.0 (10.8–17.6) | 12.3 (9.3–15.9) | 0.338 |
| Obese | 10.1 (7.4–13.4) | 7.8 (5.4–10.8) | |
| 16-year-olds | |||
| Overweight | 12.7 (9.7–16.2) | 14.8 (11.6–18.4) | 0.060 |
| Obese | 9.5 (6.9–12.6) | 5.4 (3.5–8.0) | |
| BMI, kg/m2 (mean ± SD) (1736 boys, 1799 girls) | 20.3±4.1 | 20.2±4.3 | 0.701 |
| Blood pressure, mmHg (mean ± SD) (1736 boys, 1799 girls) | |||
| 9-year-olds | |||
| Systolic | 103.3±9.5 | 102.7±9.7 | 0.189 |
| Diastolic | 57.0±6.3 | 56.8±6.1 | 0.613 |
| 13-year-olds | |||
| Systolic | 113.1±12.0 | 111.1±11.0 | 0.0036 |
| Diastolic | 58.4±6.8 | 59.6±6.8 | 0.015 |
| 16-year-olds | |||
| Systolic | 124.3±13.6 | 114.2±11.2 | <0.0001 |
| Diastolic | 61.2±7.1 | 62.3±7.5 | 0.012 |
| Physical activity score, mean ± SD (1720 boys, 1793 girls) | 10.1±8.6 | 7.6±6.5 | <0.0001 |
| Lipids, mmol/L (mean ± SD) (1192 boys, 1254 girls) | |||
| Total cholesterol | 3.83±0.70 | 4.13±0.77 | <0.0001 |
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol | 2.20±0.58 | 2.40±0.66 | <0.0001 |
| High-density lipoprotein cholesterol | 1.25±0.25 | 1.32±0.24 | <0.0001 |
| Triglycerides | 0.84±0.45 | 0.91±0.41 | <0.0001 |
| Apolipoprotein B, g/L (mean ± SD) (1138 boys, 1202 girls) | 0.63±0.16 | 0.69±0.19 | <0.0001 |
| Glucose, mmol/L (mean ± SD) (1192 boys, 1254 girls) | 5.3±0.4 | 5.1±0.4 | <0.0001 |
| Insulin, pmol/L (mean ± SD) (1076 boys, 1147 girls) | |||
| 9-year-olds | 29.4±21.2 | 35.5±46.2 | 0.026 |
| 13- to 16-year-olds | 47.6±36.1 | 53.4±29.6 | <0.0001 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L (median, range§) (1076 boys, 1146 girls) | 0.2, ND – 55.3 | 0.3, ND – 65.6 | <0.0001 |
*
P for differences between sexes
†
Number of participants for whom data were available
‡
No excess weight – body mass index (BMI) <85th age- and sex-specific percentile values according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts, overweight – BMI ≥85th and <95th age- and sex-specific percentile values, obese – BMI ≥ 95th age- and sex-specific percentile values
§
Median and range were used instead of mean ± SD because a large proportion of participants had nondetectable (ND) concentrations