Table 6.
Associations between maternal educational level and health outcomes (ages 0 to 8), adjusted for biological and lifestyle factors.
| Asthma symptoms | Poor general health | Frequent respiratory infections | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Educational levelc | Intermediate | Low | Intermediate | Low | Intermediate | Low | ||||||
| ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | |
| Model A | 1.16 | (1.00-1.34) | 1.27 | (1.08-1.49) | 1.11 | (0.96-1.27) | 1.36 | (1.16-1.60) | 1.17 | (1.02-1.34) | 1.57 | (1.35-1.83) |
| Model A + siblings | 1.16 | (1.00-1.34) | 1.26 | (1.07-1.48) | - | - | 1.17 | (1.02-1.34) | 1.56 | (1.34-1.82) | ||
| Model A + maternal age at birth | 1.12 | (0.97-1.30) | 1.22 | (1.03-1.44) | 1.02 | (0.86-1.17) | 1.24 | (1.05-1.46) | 1.14 | (0.99-1.30) | 1.51 | (1.29-1.78) |
| Model A + birthweight | 1.15 | (0.99-1.33) | 1.24 | (1.05-1.46) | 1.10 | (0.96-1.26) | 1.34 | (1.14-1.57) | 1.17 | (1.02-1.34) | 1.55 | (1.33-1.81) |
| Model A + smoking during pregnancyd | 1.14 | (0.99-1.32) | 1.20 | (1.02-1.42) | 1.09 | (0.95-1.26) | 1.31 | (1.11-1.54) | 1.16 | (1.01-1.33) | 1.51 | (1.29-1.76) |
| Model A + smoking in the homee | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||
| Model A + breastfeeding | 1.10 | (0.95-1.27) | 1.16 | (0.98-1.37) | 1.08 | (0.93-1.24) | 1.30 | (1.09-1.54) | 1.12 | (0.98-1.28) | 1.44 | (1.22-1.69) |
| Model A + day-care centre attendancef | - | - | 1.04 | (0.91-1.19) | 1.24 | (1.05-1.45) | - | - | ||||
| Total g,h,1 | 1.04 | (0.90-1.21) | 1.04 | (0.88-1.24) | 0.94 | (0.82-1.08) | 1.06 | (0.90-1.26) | 1.06 | (0.93-1.22) | 1.32 | (1.11-1.57) |
| Overweightl | Obesity | |||||||||||
| Educational levelc | Intermediate | Low | Intermediate | Low | ||||||||
| ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | ORa | CIb | ORb | CIb | |||||
| Model A | 1.16 | (0.96-1.40) | 1.42 | (1.16-1.73) | 1.71 | (1.11-2.63) | 2.82 | (1.80-4.41) | ||||
| Model A + siblings | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Model A + maternal age at birth | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Model A + birthweight | 1.19 | (0.99-1.44) | 1.50 | (1.23-1.82) | 1.75 | (1.14-2.69) | 2.97 | (1.91-4.61) | ||||
| Model A + smoking during pregnancyd | 1.15 | (0.95-1.39) | 1.37 | (1.12-1.67) | 1.68 | (1.10-2.56) | 2.55 | (1.61-4.02) | ||||
| Model A + smoking in the homee | 1.14 | (0.94-1.37) | 1.36 | (1.11-1.66) | 1.61 | (1.05-2.46) | 2.53 | (1.62-3.93) | ||||
| Model A + breastfeeding | - | - | 1.63 | (1.04-2.55) | 2.61 | (1.64-4.14) | ||||||
| Model A + day-care centre attendancef | 1.11 | (0.91-1.34) | 1.32 | (1.07-1.61) | 1.52 | (1.00-2.32) | 2.41 | (1.54-3.80) | ||||
| Totalj,k | 1.09 | (0.90-1.32) | 1.26 | (1.02-1.54) | 1.42 | (0.93-2.18) | 2.04 | (1.28-3.26) | ||||
Note: Model A includes sex of child, age, and maternal educational level
a odds ratio of health, adjusted for sex of the child
b 95% confidence interval of the odds ratio
c highest educational level is reference
d smoking by the mother during at least the first four weeks of pregnancy
e smoking by anyone in the home more than once a week
f < 4 hours per week
g total model for asthma includes siblings, maternal age at birth, birth weight, smoking during pregnancy and breastfeeding
h total model for poor general health includes maternal age at birth, birth weight, smoking during pregnancy, breastfeeding and day-care centre attendance
i total model for frequent respiratory infections includes siblings, maternal age at birth, birth weight, smoking during pregnancy and breastfeeding
j total model for overweight includes smoking during pregnancy, smoking in the home and day care centre attendance
k total model for obesity includes smoking during pregnancy, smoking in the home, breastfeeding and day-care centre attendance
l overweight includes obesity