Table 1.
Characteristics of the study participants
| DHA/ARA | Control | P -value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study enrollment, n |
233 |
92 |
— |
| Study completion, n (%) |
204 (88%) |
78 (85%) |
0.59 |
| Gender (male), n (%) |
121 (52%) |
51 (55%) |
0.62 |
|
Birth characteristics |
|
|
|
| Weight (g), Mean (SE) |
|
|
|
|
Males (DHA/ARA n = 119; Control n = 51) |
3375 (39.1) |
3433 (59.7) |
0.42 |
|
Females (DHA/ARA n = 109; Control n = 40) |
3383 (41.4) |
3195 (68.3) |
0.02 |
| Length (cm), Mean (SE) |
|
|
|
|
Males |
49.9 (0.2) |
50.2 (0.3) |
0.41 |
|
Females |
49.6 (0.2) |
48.7 (0.3) |
0.04 |
| Head circumference (cm), Mean (SE) |
|
|
|
|
Males |
35.0 (0.1) |
34.9 (0.2) |
0.65 |
|
Females |
34.6 (0.1) |
34.3 (0.2) |
0.13 |
|
Enrollment characteristics |
|
|
|
| Age (days) at enrollment |
|
|
|
|
Males |
41.3 (1.5) |
38.3 (2.3) |
0.28 |
|
Females |
45.6 (1.4) |
43.2 (2.4) |
0.39 |
| Weight (g), Mean (SE) |
|
|
|
|
Males |
4594.9 (75.2) |
4524.1 (113.9) |
0.61 |
|
Females |
4566.8 (68.8) |
4378.4 (117.0) |
0.17 |
| Length (cm), Mean (SE) |
|
|
|
|
Males |
55.0 (0.3) |
54.7 (0.4) |
0.53 |
|
Females |
54.9 (0.3) |
54.3 (0.4) |
0.28 |
| Head circumference (cm), Mean (SE) |
|
|
|
|
Males |
38.0 (0.2) |
37.7 (0.2) |
0.32 |
|
Females |
37.7 (0.1) |
37.4 (0.2) |
0.26 |
| Feeding |
|
|
|
|
Ever breastfed, n (%) |
144 (62%) |
70 (76%) |
0.02 |
|
Non-breastfed, n (%) |
88 (43%) |
22 (30%) |
|
|
Mixed feeding, n (%) |
60 (29%) |
21 (28%) |
0.07 |
|
Exclusively breastfed, n (%) |
59 (29%) |
31 (42%) |
|
|
Breastfeeding duration (days), Mean (SE) |
32 (1.5) |
34 (2.3) |
0.52 |
| Family history of allergy, n (%) |
|
|
|
|
Eczema |
49 (21%) |
19 (21%) |
1.00 |
|
Asthma |
47 (20%) |
16 (17%) |
0.64 |
| Smoking in home, n (%) |
50 (22%) |
21 (23%) |
0.88 |
| Mother’s educational level, n (%) |
|
|
0.54 |
|
High |
64 (28%) |
20 (22%) |
|
|
Intermediate |
142 (63%) |
60 (67%) |
|
|
Low |
19 (8%) |
9 (10%) |
|
| Parents’ socioeconomic level, n (%) |
|
|
0.80 |
|
Both upper |
36 (16%) |
15 (16%) |
|
|
One upper/One intermediate |
32 (14%) |
13 (14%) |
|
|
One upper/One lower |
9 (4%) |
1 (1%) |
|
|
Both intermediate |
111 (49%) |
46 (51%) |
|
|
One intermediate/One lower |
35 (15%) |
16 (18%) |
|
|
Both lower |
3 (1%) |
0 (0%) |
|
| Daycare attendance, n (%) |
|
|
|
|
Early daycare exposure (≤90 days of age) |
12 (5%) |
0 (0%) |
0.02 |
| Late daycare exposure | 99 (45%) | 36 (42%) | 0.61 |
Gender, family history of eczema, asthma, and bronchiolitis, and smoking in the home, mother’s educational level, and type of feeding were analyzed using Fisher's exact test. All other variables were analyzed by ANOVA; statistical significance at P < 0.05.