Table 1.
Main characteristics of study population. Values are mean (SD or range) unless stated otherwise
| Variable | Breast fed | Bottle fed | P value for difference between groups | Participants who only completed questionnaire* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of participants (men/women) | 149 (67/82) | 182 (93/89) | — | 55 (27/28) |
| Age (years) | 23 (20 to 28) | 23 (20 to 27) | 0.07 | 23 (21 to 27) |
| Height (cm) | 170 (10) | 168 (9) | 0.03 | 161 (25) |
| Weight (kg) | 70.4 (14.5) | 68.7 (13.1) | 0.28 | 68.3 (17) |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 24.2 (4.1) | 24.3 (3.7) | 0.83 | 26.8 (6.3) |
| Length of breast feeding (months) | 3.33 (0 to 18) | — | — | — |
| Resting arterial diameter (mm) | 3.32 (0.59) | 3.28 (0.59) | 0.45 | — |
| Distensibility coefficient (mm Hg−1) | 0.133 (0.07) | 0.140 (0.08) | 0.38 | — |
| Cholesterol (mmol/l) | 4.43 (0.99) | 4.61 (1.01) | 0.11 | — |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 2.71 (0.88) | 2.90 (0.93) | 0.07 | — |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.18 (0.25) | 1.18 (0.31) | 0.96 | — |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 128 (14) | 128 (14) | 0.93 | — |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 70 (9) | 71 (8) | 0.31 | — |
| Smoking history (No (%)): | ||||
| Smokers | 49 (33) | 64 (35) | 0.78 | 21 (38) |
| Former smokers | 25 (17) | 22 (12) | 3 (6) | |
| Non-smokers | 75 (50) | 96 (53) | 31 (56) | |
| No (%) in social class: | ||||
| I | 12 (8) | 13 (7) | 0.19 | — |
| II | 36 (24) | 33 (18) | — | |
| IIINM | 51 (34) | 62 (34) | — | |
| IIIM | 24 (16) | 36 (20) | — | |
| IV | 22 (15) | 33 (18) | — | |
| V | 4 (3) | 5 (3) | — |
LDL=low density lipoprotein, HDL= high density lipoprotein. *Data presented for comparison.