Table 1. Characteristics of Mothers and Offspring.
| All (N = 308) |
Low evening cortisol (N = 154) |
High evening cortisol (N = 154) |
Pa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||
| Variable | Mean (SD) | Range | Mean (SD) | Range | Mean (SD) | Range | |
| Maternal characteristics | |||||||
| Age (years) | 21.5 (0.3) | (20.8, 22.3) | 21.5 (0.31) | (20.8, 22.3) | 21.5 (0.3) | (20.8, 22.3) | 0.35 |
| Birth weight (g) | 2984 (407) | (1814, 4100) | 3010 (376) | (1956, 4082) | 2958 | (1814, 4100) | 0.26 |
| Weight (kg) | 47.2 (7.9) | (30, 85) | 48.8 (8.3) | (34, 85) | 45.6 (7.0) | (30, 64) | 0.0002 |
| Height (cm) | 150.6 (5.4) | (136.5, 167.1) | 151.2 (5.4) | (139.8, 167.1) | 149.9 (5.3) | (136.5, 162.8) | 0.039 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 20.7 (3.0) | (14.6, 33.5) | 21.3 (3.1) | (15.7, 33.5) | 20.2 (2.8) | (14.6, 29.8) | 0.0009 |
| Underweight (%)b | 23.1% | 16.9% | 29.2% | 0.010 | |||
| Overweight (%)c | 8.1% | 10.4% | 5.8% | 0.14 | |||
| Obese (%)d | 0.01% | 1.9% | 0% | 0.15 | |||
| Cortisol | |||||||
| Waking (nmol/1) | 7.3 (3.8) | (0.4, 23.2) | 6.7 (3.2) | (0.4, 18.7) | 7.9 (4.2) | (0.9, 23.2) | 0.003 |
| 30-min post waking (nmol/1) | 8.7 (4.5) | (0.4, 34.0) | 8.0 (3.9) | (0.4, 23.6) | 9.5 (4.9) | (0.6, 34.0) | 0.012 |
| Evening (nmol/1) | 1.9 (2.2) | (0.1, 17.1) | 0.6 (0.3) | (0.1, 1.1) | 3.1 (2.5) | (1.1, 17.1) | 0.08 |
|
| |||||||
| Individual Pregnancies | (N = 488) | (N = 244) | (N = 244) | ||||
| Offspring birth weight (g) | 3032 (558) | (1500, 4500) | 3086 (552) | (1591, 4500) | 2979 (560) | (1500, 4455) | 0.03 |
| Offspring male (%) | 53% | 55% | 50% | 0.23 | |||
| Born early (<9 months gestation) | 6% | 5% | 7% | 0.24 | |||
| Primiparity (%) | 56% | 57% | 55% | 0.78 | |||
a
Significance level for difference between women with high and low cortisol from 2-sided t-tests for continuous variables and chi-2 for categorical variables.
b
BMI ≤18.5
c
BMI ≥25 and <30
d
BMI ≥30