Table 2.
Background characteristics and their associations with mothers’ urinary arsenic concentrations and reported symptoms of LRTI and diarrhea among the infants of the 2002–2003 pregnancy cohort in Matlab, Bangladesh.
| Arsenic level
|
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median (μg/L)a | p-Value | LRTI
|
Diarrhea
|
||||
| Characteristic | n (%) | RR (95% CI) | p-Value | RR (95% CI) | p-Value | ||
| Age (years)
| |||||||
| < 20b | 182 (11.7) | 118 | 0.263 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 20–24 | 442 (28.9) | 96 | 0.81 (0.65–1.01) | 0.059 | 1.15 (0.94 –1.41) | 0.174 | |
| 25–34 | 744 (47.9) | 92 | 0.99 (0.81–1.21) | 0.954 | 1.26 (1.04–1.52) | 0.019 | |
| ≥ 35 | 184 (11.9) | 80 | 1.01 (0.78–1.30) | 0.936 | 1.35 (1.07–1.70) | 0.010 | |
| Parity
| |||||||
| 0b | 502 (32.4) | 91 | 0.572 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 399 (25.7) | 93 | 1.13 (0.94–1.35) | 0.186 | 1.15 (0.99–1.33) | 0.066 | |
| 2–3 | 330 (21.3) | 100 | 1.36 (1.14–1.62) | 0.001 | 1.17 (1.00–1.36) | 0.051 | |
| ≥ 4 | 320 (20.6) | 101 | 1.40 (1.17–1.67) | < 0.001 | 1.29 (1.11–1.50) | 0.001 | |
| Education (years)
| |||||||
| 0b | 390 (25.1) | 107 | 0.001 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1–5 | 479 (30.9) | 103 | 0.85 (0.72–1.00) | 0.050 | 1.01 (0.88–1.17) | 0.832 | |
| > 5 | 683 (44.0) | 83 | 0.72 (0.62–0.85) | < 0.001 | 0.83 (0.72–0.95) | 0.008 | |
| Asset index
| |||||||
| 1 (poorest)b | 344 (22.2) | 124 | < 0.001 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 328 (21.1) | 103 | 0.76 (0.64–0.91) | 0.002 | 0.79 (0.67–0.93) | 0.004 | |
| 3 | 284 (18.3) | 104 | 0.67 (0.55–0.81) | < 0.001 | 0.73 (0.62–0.87) | < 0.001 | |
| 4 | 284 (18.3) | 84 | 0.54 (0.44–0.66) | < 0.001 | 0.71 (0.60–0.84) | < 0.001 | |
| 5 (richest) | 312 (20.1) | 65 | 0.46 (0.37–0.57) | < 0.001 | 0.69 (0.59–0.82) | < 0.001 | |
| Height (m)
| |||||||
| < 1.50b | 787 (50.7) | 95 | 0.847 | 1 | 1 | ||
| ≥ 1.50 | 765 (49.3) | 94 | 1.06 (0.94–1.21) | 0.342 | 1.03 (0.93–1.15) | 0.540 | |
| BMI (kg/m2)
| |||||||
| < 18.5b | 464 (30.0) | 110 | 0.026 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 18.5–24 | 1,005 (64.5) | 91 | 0.87 (0.76–1.00) | 0.057 | 0.95 (0.85–1.08) | 0.444 | |
| ≥ 25 | 79 (5.1) | 75 | 0.62 (0.43–0.88) | 0.008 | 1.03 (0.79–1.33) | 0.838 | |
| Birth weight of infant (g)
| |||||||
| < 2,000b | 58 (3.7) | 92 | 0.588 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2,000–2,499 | 421 (27.1) | 88 | 0.86 (0.61–1.22) | 0.405 | 0.99 (0.73–1.35) | 0.955 | |
| ≥ 2,500 | 1,072 (69.1) | 98 | 0.85 (0.61–1.18) | 0.328 | 0.95 (0.71–1.28) | 0.727 | |
| Gestational age at birth (weeks)
| |||||||
| < 37b | 181 (11.7) | 103 | 0.295 | 1 | 1 | ||
| ≥ 37 | 1,371 (88.3) | 93 | 0.83 (0.67–0.98) | 0.030 | 0.83 (0.71–0.98) | 0.028 | |
| Sex of infant
| |||||||
| Maleb | 804 (51.8) | 92 | 0.534 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Female | 748 (48.2) | 97 | 0.83 (0.73–0.94) | 0.004 | 0.93 (0.83–1.04) | 0.212 | |
a
Mean urinary arsenic concentrations in early and late gestation; sum of inorganic and methylated arsenic species.
b
Reference group.