Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of the participants.
| Characteristic | VLBW (n = 49) | Term (n = 36) | P a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | |||
| Gestational age, mean (SD), week | 29.3 (2.4) | 40.2 (1.1) | <0.0001 |
| Birth weight, mean (SD), g | 1099 (202) | 3641 (473) | <0.0001 |
| Birth weight SDS, mean (SD) | -1.6 (1.5) | 0.2 (1.1) | <0.0001 |
| Women, n (%) | 23 (46.9) | 22 (61.1) | 0.5 |
| Men, n (%) | 26 (53.1) | 14 (38.9) | 0.4 |
| SGA b, n (%) | 23 (46.9) | 0 | |
| Preeclampsia, n (%) | 9 (20.0) | 5 (14.3) | 0.5 |
| Twin, n (%) | 6 (12.2) | 0 | |
| Triplet, n (%) | 1 (2.0) | 0 | |
| Current | |||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 23.3 (2.1) | 23.6(2.3) | 0.6 |
| Height, mean (SD), cm | |||
| Women | 161.5 (5.8) | 166.2 (6.9) | 0.02 |
| Men | 174.4 (8.0) | 181.1 (4.8) | 0.007 |
| Body mass index, mean (SD), kg/m2 | |||
| Women | 21.7 (3.2) | 23.9 (4.8) | 0.07 |
| Men | 22.5 (4.1) | 23.4 (3.3) | 0.5 |
| Daily smoking, n (%) | 14 (28.6) | 10 (28.6) | 1.0 |
| Menstrual cycle phase c if no hormonal contraception, n (%) | 0.3 | ||
| Day 1–8 | 8 | 10 | |
| Day 9- end of cycle | 9 | 7 | |
| History of depression diagnosed by a physician, n (%) | 6 (12.2) | 5 (13.9) | 0.8 |
| Use of hormonal contraceptives, n (%) | 12 (52.2) | 7 (31.8) | 0.2 |
| Parental education, n (%) | 0.07 | ||
| Elementary | 4 (8.3) | 2 (5.7) | |
| High school | 14 (29.2) | 3 (8.6) | |
| Intermediate | 18 (37.5) | 14 (40.0) | |
| University | 12 (25.0) | 16 (45.7) |
VLBW, very low birth weight (<1500 g)
aT-test for continuous and chi-square test for categorical variables
b SGA, small for gestational age, birth weight < -2 SD
c Data available for 17 VLBW and 17 control women