Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of 493 Zimbabwean subjects grouped according to sex
| Men | Women | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | 194 | 299 | |
| Age (years) | 44 (35–58) | 57 (51–−62) | <0.001 |
| Vegetarians (no. and %) | 21 (10.8%) | 27 (9.0%) | 0.51 |
| Number of pregnancies | – | 7 (5–8)a | – |
| Number of spontaneous abortions | – | 1 (0–1)b | – |
| Ferritin (μg/L) | 84 (58–126) | 70 (39–108) | <0.001 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL) | 15.0 (14.1–15.8) | 13.5 (12.8–14.3) | <0.001 |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (mm/h) | 10 (4–24) | 32 (17–49) | <0.001 |
| Aspartate amino transaminase (IU/L) | 26 (21–33) | 25 (20–30) | 0.291 |
| Alanine amino transaminase (IU/L) | 16 (10–24) | 14 (10–19) | 0.007 |
| Alkaline phosphatase (IU/L) | 90 (72–111) | 104 (86–124) | 0.043 |
| Gamma glutamyl transferase (IU/L) | 17 (10–23) | 15 (9–24) | 0.253 |
| Hepatitis B surface antigen positive (no. and %) | 45 (23.2%) | 31 (10.4%) | <0.001 |
| Antibody to hepatitis C positive (no. and %) | 11 (5.7%) | 34 (11.4%) | 0.032 |
Results are presented as median and interquartile range unless otherwise indicated
P = value difference in means or proportions by t test and chi-square statistic comparing men and women
a
n = 283
b
n = 282