Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample according to ethnic group
| Dutch N = 1718 | African descent N = 238 | Turkish N = 162 | Moroccan N = 245 | Others N = 793 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prenatal pre-pregnancy factors | |||||
| Age (year) | 32.4 (4.1)1 | 29.0 (6.3) | 26.5 (5.2) | 27.6 (5.5) | 31.3 (5.1) |
| Parity (%) | |||||
| 0 | 60.9 | 46.2 | 39.5 | 47.3 | 54.5 |
| 1 | 31.7 | 27.3 | 35.8 | 27.3 | 32.4 |
| ≥ 2 | 7.5 | 26.5 | 24.7 | 25.3 | 13.1 |
| Maternal education (%) | |||||
| 0-5 years | 7.0 | 42.6 | 56.5 | 54.2 | 22.4 |
| 6-10 years | 34.3 | 47.8 | 38.5 | 40.8 | 40.0 |
| > 10 years | 58.7 | 9.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 37.6 |
| Height (cm) | 171 (6.2) | 166 (6.2) | 162 (5.1) | 164 (6.7) | 166 (7.2) |
| BMI mother (kg/m2) | 22.6 (3.3) | 24.4 (5.2) | 24.6 (4.6) | 25.1 (4.4) | 22.7 (3.8) |
| Hypertension (%) | |||||
| Pre-existent | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 3.6 |
| Gestational | 11.8 | 8.9 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 7.4 |
| Diabetes (%) | |||||
| Pre-existent | 0.5 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 0.8 |
| Gestational | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Smoking (%) | |||||
| None | 90.4 | 89.5 | 80.2 | 97.6 | 90.0 |
| 1-5 cigarettes/day | 6.2 | 7.6 | 13.0 | 1.2 | 6.2 |
| ≥ 6 cigarettes/day | 3.4 | 3.0 | 6.8 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| Physical activity (%) | |||||
| Not | 6.6 | 34.5 | 32.7 | 34.7 | 20.1 |
| Low | 19.5 | 41.6 | 50.0 | 39.6 | 28.4 |
| Moderate | 32.0 | 16.4 | 11.7 | 20.8 | 23.8 |
| High | 41.9 | 7.6 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 27.7 |
| Birth outcomes | |||||
| Birth weight (kg) | 3.51 (0.55) | 3.26 (0.62) | 3.39 (0.53) | 3.46 (0.50) | 3.39 (0.54) |
| Gestational age (wk) | 39.9 (1.7) | 39.3 (2.0) | 39.5 (1.8) | 40.0 (1.5) | 39.8 (1.7) |
| Gender (%) | |||||
| Boy | 50.8 | 47.1 | 50.0 | 53.5 | 46.5 |
| Girl | 49.2 | 52.9 | 50.0 | 46.5 | 53.5 |
| Postnatal factors | |||||
| Exclusive breastfeeding (%) | |||||
| None | 18.5 | 18.9 | 5.6 | 12.2 | 18.3 |
| < 1 month | 7.1 | 12.6 | 17.3 | 13.1 | 8.6 |
| 1-3 months | 30.7 | 40.3 | 31.5 | 42.0 | 30.9 |
| > 3 months | 43.7 | 28.2 | 45.7 | 32.7 | 42.2 |
| Infant weight gain during the first 6 months (100 g/mo) | 7.07 (1.34) | 7.60 (1.56) | 7.83 (1.50) | 7.79 (1.47) | 7.10 (1.35) |
| BMI 2 yr (kg/m2) | 16.2 (1.3) | 16.2 (1.4) | 16.8 (1.7) | 16.9 (1.7) | 16.1 (1.4) |
| Overweight 2 yr (%) | 7.1 | 9.2 | 19.8 | 16.7 | 8.8 |
1 Mean (SD) (all such values)