Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of women1
| Variable | Total (n=653) |
PPWR <5 kg (n=544) |
PPWR ≥5kg (n=109) |
P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPWR (kg), median (IQR) | 0.90 (-1.40 – 3.25) | 0.30 (-1.20 – 1.95) | 7.00 (5.63 – 8.80) | <0.001 |
| Maternal age (years) | 31.18 ± 5.19 | 31.50 ± 5.16 | 29.56 ± 5.12 | <0.001 |
| Education, n (%) | 0.961 | |||
| None/ Primary/ Secondary | 436 (66.8) | 363 (66.7) | 73 (67.0) | |
| University and above | 217 (33.2) | 181 (33.3) | 36 (33.0) | |
| Ethnicity, n (%) | 0.002 | |||
| Chinese | 359 (55.0) | 316 (58.1) | 43 (39.4) | |
| Malay | 169 (25.9) | 130 (23.9) | 39 (35.8) | |
| Indian | 125 (19.1) | 98 (18.0) | 27 (24.8) | |
| Parity, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| 0 | 236 (36.1) | 169 (31.1) | 67 (61.5) | |
| ≥1 | 417 (63.9) | 375 (68.9) | 42 (38.5) | |
| Gestational diabetes, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| No | 533 (81.6) | 431 (79.2) | 102 (93.6) | |
| Yes | 120 (18.4) | 113 (20.8) | 7 (6.4) | |
| Early pregnancy body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.62 ± 4.45 | 23.39 ± 4.36 | 24.75 ± 4.73 | 0.003 |
| Gestational weight gain per week (kg/week) | 0.47 ± 0.12 | 0.46 ± 0.12 | 0.53 ± 0.13 | <0.001 |
| Physical activity (MET-min/week), n (%) | 0.240 | |||
| Not highly active (<3000) | 531 (81.3) | 438 (80.5) | 93 (85.3) | |
| Highly active (≥3000) | 122 (18.7) | 106 (19.5) | 16 (14.7) | |
| Smoking exposure, n (%) | 0.075 | |||
| No | 368 (56.4) | 315 (57.9) | 53 (48.6) | |
| Yes | 285 (43.6) | 229 (42.1) | 56 (51.4) | |
| Total daily energy intake (kcal) | 1889 ± 595 | 1885 ± 590 | 1907 ± 625 | 0.723 |
| Fish oil supplement intake, n (%) | 0.012 | |||
| No | 372 (57.0) | 298 (54.8) | 74 (67.9) | |
| Yes | 281 (43.0) | 246 (45.2) | 35 (32.1) | |
| Mode of infant feeding, n (%) | 0.136 | |||
| Breastfeeding | 88 (13.5) | 79 (14.5) | 9 (8.3) | |
| Mixed feeding | 406 (62.2) | 338 (62.2) | 68 (62.3) | |
| Formula feeding | 159 (24.3) | 127 (23.3) | 32 (29.4) | |
| ALA (%) | 0.21 ± 0.14 | 0.21 ± 0.14 | 0.21 ± 0.13 | 0.625 |
| EPA (%) | 0.70 ± 0.57 | 0.73 ± 0.60 | 0.53 ± 0.35 | <0.001 |
| DHA (%) | 4.74 ± 1.45 | 4.80 ± 1.47 | 4.45 ± 1.31 | 0.020 |
| Total Omega-3 (%) | 6.41 ± 1.89 | 6.51 ± 1.93 | 5.91 ± 1.64 | 0.001 |
| LA (%) | 21.74 ± 3.37 | 21.68 ± 3.41 | 22.04 ± 3.12 | 0.317 |
| AA (%) | 7.92 ± 1.73 | 7.98 ± 1.77 | 7.57 ± 1.50 | 0.024 |
| Total Omega-6 (%) | 34.20 ± 3.38 | 34.19 ± 3.43 | 34.22 ± 3.15 | 0.923 |
| Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio | 5.86 ± 2.01 | 5.77 ± 1.99 | 6.30 ± 2.07 | 0.012 |
1
Means ± standard deviations are shown, unless otherwise stated. Chi-square tests for categorical variables and independent-samples t tests for continuous variables were used to compare the 2 groups. AA, arachidonic acid; ALA, α-linolenic acid; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; IQR, interquartile range; LA, linoleic acid; MET, Metabolic equivalent task; PPWR, postpartum weight retention.