Table 1. Clinical characteristics of and blood metal concentrations in pregnant women.
| Trimesters of pregnancy | Groups | Maternal age [year] [X±SD] |
BMI before pregnancy [kg/m2] [X±SD] |
Infant birth weight [g] [X±SD] |
Cotinine [ng/ml] [X±SD] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st trimester | S n = 6 | 28.86 ± 6.87 | 23.71 ± 2.55 | 3258.3 ± 255.8 | 80.71 ± 18.53* |
| NS n = 18 | 30.38 ± 4.07 | 22.85 ± 3.56 | 3392.1 ± 412.4 | 3.23 ± 1.20* | |
| 2nd trimester | S n = 7 | 28.50 ± 6.92 | 24.78 ± 3.70 | 3465.6 ± 213.4 | 72.36 ± 20.76** |
| NS n = 35 | 28.95 ± 4.32 | 23.46 ± 3.30 | 3446.6 ± 452.7 | 3.26 ± 1.90** | |
| 3rd trimester | S n = 10 | 28.58 ± 4.25 | 24.90 ± 3.81 | 3385.5 ± 428.8 | 77.28 ± 16.09*** |
| NS n = 31 | 29.62 ± 4.98 | 23.44 ± 4.03 | 3430.0 ± 459.4 | 2.90 ± 1.04*** |
Groups–S: smoking; NS: non-smoking.
*, **,*** significant (p < 0.00) for the same parameter in the same trimester for different smoking groups (e.g. *NS group in the 1st trimester has lower level of cotinine than S group in the same trimester)