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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Mar 27.
Published in final edited form as: Birth Defects Res. 2019 Dec 21;112(3):270–277. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.1634

TABLE 1.

Unadjusted associations between selected characteristics and total dietary arsenic consumption among National Birth Defects Prevention Study control mothers, 1997–2011

Maternal characteristic Total arsenic (μg/day)
Low (<4.5) (N = 3,629)
Medium (4.5–15.4) (N = 3,629)
High (≥15.4) (N = 3,628)
Medium versus low
High versus low
N % N % N % OR (95% CI) OR (95% CI)
Age (years)a
 <20 507 14.0 306 8.4 222 6.1 0.6 (0.5, 0.7) 0.4 (0.4, 0.5)
 20–24 1,034 28.5 736 20.3 646 17.8 0.7 (0.6, 0.8) 0.6 (0.6, 0.7)
 25–29 1,005 27.7 1,057 29.1 991 27.3 Referent Referent
 30–34 761 21.0 1,002 27.6 1,072 29.6 1.3 (1.1, 1.4) 1.4 (1.3, 1.6)
 35–39 261 7.2 455 12.5 575 15.9 1.7 (1.4, 2.0) 2.2 (1.9, 2.6)
 ≥40 61 1.7 73 2.0 122 3.4 1.1 (0.8, 1.6) 2.0 (1.5, 2.8)
Education (years)a
 0–8 160 4.4 178 4.9 200 5.6 1.4 (1.1, 1.8) 1.6 (1.3, 2.1)
 9–11 506 14.1 360 10 363 10.1 0.9 (0.8, 1.1) 0.9 (0.8, 1.1)
 12 999 27.8 773 21.5 760 21.1 Referent Referent
 13–15 983 27.3 992 27.5 936 26 1.3 (1.1, 1.5) 1.3 (1.1, 1.4)
 ≥16 952 26.4 1,301 36.1 1,344 37.3 1.8 (1.6, 2.0) 1.9 (1.6, 2.1)
Race/ethnicity
 Non-Hispanic White 2,399 66.1 2,161 59.6 1,854 51.1 Referent Referent
 Non-Hispanic Black 201 5.5 362 10.0 591 16.3 2.0 (1.7, 2.4) 3.8 (3.2, 4.5)
 Hispanic 837 23.1 881 24.3 895 24.7 1.2 (1.0, 1.3) 1.4 (1.2, 1.6)
 Other 191 5.3 224 6.2 286 7.9 1.3 (1.1, 1.6) 1.9 (1.6, 2.4)
Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m2)
 <18.5 202 5.8 189 5.4 165 4.8 0.9 (0.7, 1.1) 0.8 (0.6, 1.0)
 18.5–24.9 1,794 51.3 1,889 54.1 1,912 55.3 Referent Referent
 25–30.0 811 23.2 784 22.4 795 23.0 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 0.9 (0.8, 1.0)
 ≥30.0 688 19.7 633 18.1 584 16.9 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 0.8 (0.7, 0.9)
NBDPS site
 Arkansas 495 13.6 507 14.0 394 10.9 1.3 (1.1, 1.5) 1.4 (1.2, 1.7)
 California 437 12.0 384 10.6 373 10.3 1.1 (0.9, 1.3) 1.5 (1.2, 1.8)
 Georgia 214 5.9 347 9.6 500 13.8 2.0 (1.6, 2.5) 4.1 (3.3, 5.1)
 Iowa 514 14.2 418 11.5 290 8.0 Referent Referent
 Massachusetts 318 8.8 409 11.3 553 15.2 1.6 (1.3, 1.9) 3.1 (2.5, 3.8)
 New Jersey 112 3.1 165 4.6 277 7.6 1.8 (1.4, 2.4) 4.4 (3.4, 5.7)
 New York 314 8.7 289 8.0 337 9.3 1.1 (0.9, 1.4) 1.9 (1.5, 2.3)
 North Carolina 322 8.9 339 9.3 280 7.7 1.3 (1.1, 1.6) 1.5 (1.2, 1.9)
 Texas 421 11.6 410 11.3 407 11.2 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) 1.7 (1.4, 2.1)
 Utah 482 13.3 361 10.0 217 6.0 0.9 (0.8, 1.1) 0.8 (0.6, 1.0)
Alcohol useb,c
 No drinking 2,357 65.8 2,188 61.1 2,234 62.1 Referent Referent
 Drinking with no binge episodes 730 20.4 951 26.7 957 26.6 1.4 (1.3, 1.6) 1.4 (1.2, 1.5)
 Drinking and ≥1 binge episode 496 13.8 443 12.4 408 11.3 1.0 (0.8, 1.1) 0.9 (0.8, 1.0)
Cigarette smoke exposureb
 No active or passive smoking 2,336 64.9 2,550 71.0 2,637 73.0 Referent Referent
 Active smoking only 330 258 9.2 7.2 231 6.4 0.7 (0.6, 0.9) 0.6 (0.5, 0.7)
 Passive smoking only 450 445 12.5 12.4 445 12.3 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 0.9 (0.8, 1.0)
 Active and passive smoking 484 341 13.4 9.5 299 8.3 0.7 (0.6, 0.8) 0.6 (0.5, 0.6)

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; NBDPS, National Birth Defects Prevention Study; OR, odds ratio.

a

At delivery.

b

During the period one month before conception through the third month of pregnancy.

c

Binge drinking defined as 4 or more drinks in one sitting.