Table I.
Baseline demographic characteristics and lipoprotein cholesterol levels of women, by ovulatory status.
| Overall | Ovulatory | Anovulatorya | P-valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 259 | n = 224 | n = 35 | ||
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, years: mean ± SD | 27.3 ± 8.2 | 28.0 ± 8.3 | 22.5 ± 5.6 | <0.01 |
| BMI, kg/m2: mean ± SD | 24.1 ± 3.9 | 24.2 ± 3.9 | 23.4 ± 3.8 | 0.25 |
| Waist-to-hip ratio: mean ± SD | 0.75 ± 0.05 | 0.75 ± 0.06 | 0.76 ± 0.03 | 0.79 |
| Cycle 1 length, days: mean ± SD | 28.9 ± 4.6 | 29.0 ± 4.5 | 28.7 ± 5.3 | 0.73 |
| Cycle 2 length, days: mean ± SD | 28.7 ± 3.5 | 28.8 ± 3.2 | 28.2 ± 5.3 | 0.47 |
| Physical activity: n (%) | 0.86 | |||
| Low | 25 (9.7) | 22 (9.8) | 3 (8.6) | |
| Moderate | 92 (35.5) | 81 (36.2) | 11 (31.4) | |
| High | 142 (54.8) | 121 (54.0) | 21 (60.0) | |
| Race: n (%) | 0.85 | |||
| White | 154 (59.5) | 134 (59.8) | 20 (57.1) | |
| Black | 51 (19.7) | 43 (19.2) | 8 (22.9) | |
| Other | 54 (20.9) | 47 (21.0) | 7 (20.0) | |
| ≤High school education: n (%) | 33 (12.7) | 29 (13.0) | 4 (11.4) | 1.00 |
| Current smoker: n (%) | 10 (3.9) | 9 (4.0) | 1 (2.9) | 1.00 |
| Married: n (%) | 66 (25.5) | 65 (29.0) | 1 (2.9) | <0.01 |
| Nulliparous: n (%) | 187 (73.9) | 154 (70.0) | 33 (100.0) | <0.01 |
| Past OC use: n (%) | 140 (54.9) | 127 (57.2) | 13 (39.4) | 0.06 |
| Age at menarche, years: mean ± SD | 12.5 ± 1.2 | 12.4 ± 1.2 | 12.6 ± 1.4 | 0.37 |
| Years since menarche: mean ± SD | 14.9 ± 8.3 | 15.7 ± 8.3 | 9.6 ± 6.4 | <0.01 |
| Total energy intake, kcals: mean ± SD | 1603.5 ± 397.7 | 1597.5 ± 397.0 | 1641.5 ± 405.8 | 0.54 |
| Total fiber intake, g/day: mean ± SD | 13.6 ± 6.0 | 13.4 ± 5.7 | 15.1 ± 7.1 | 0.11 |
| Baseline lipoprotein cholesterol levels (mg/dl)c | ||||
| TC: mean ± SD | 163.4 ± 29.0 | 162.8 ± 1.9 | 167.3 ± 4.9 | 0.39 |
| HDL cholesterol: mean ± SD | 50.1 ± 11.5 | 50.0 ± 0.8 | 50.6 ± 2.0 | 0.79 |
| LDL cholesterol: mean ± SD | 101.5 ± 25.7 | 101.1 ± 1.7 | 104.0 ± 4.3 | 0.54 |
| Triglycerides: mean ± SD | 59.2 ± 27.9 | 58.5 ± 1.8 | 64.0 ± 4.7 | 0.28 |
ANOVA, analysis of variance; HDL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; OC, oral contraceptives; TC, total cholesterol.
aAt least one anovulatory cycle. Twenty-eight women in the study had only one anovulatory cycle, and seven women in the study had two anovulatory cycles. There were a total of 42 anovulatory cycles out of a total 509 in the BioCycle Study.
bP-value for continuous variables calculated using ANOVA, and for categorical variables using Fisher's exact test.
cBaseline levels were measured at the first visit of the first cycle. Values for ovulatory and anovulatory cycles are predicted means after adjusting for age and BMI.