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. 2020 Sep 3;21:230. doi: 10.1186/s12931-020-01497-8

Table 1.

Sample characteristics, stratified by gender

All Population Group Allergen Test Subgroup
Boy (n = 3289) Girl (n = 2947) χ2/t Boy (n = 1975) Girl (n = 1902) χ2/t
n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%)
Demographic characteristics
 Age (years); mean (SD) 5.16 (0.87) 5.15 (0.88) 0.318 5.15 (0.87) 5.14 (0.89) 0.251
 Childhood overweight/ obesity 666 (20.3%) 469 (16.0%) 19.768*** 418 (21.3%) 298 (15.7%) 19.508***
 Child’s sleep duration on weekdays (≥10 h./day) 557 (16.9%) 496 (16.8%) 0.013 377 (17.1%) 309 (16.3%) .466
 Child’s sleep duration on weekends (≥10 h./day) 960 (29.3%) 980 (33.3%) 12.001*** 612 (31.1%) 620 (32.7%) 1.167
 Child’s screen exposure frequency (≥5 times./week) 436 (13.3%) 400 (13.6%) 0.134 250 (12.7%) 250 (13.1%) 0.204
 Child’s exercise frequency (≥1 h./day) 1450 (44.1%) 1225 (41.6%) 4.025* 909 (46.0%) 803 (42.2%) 5.694*
Family income # 0.265 0.993
  > 8000RMB 1705 (51.8%) 1519 (51.5%) 1030 (52.2%) 963 (50.6%)
 4000- 8000RMB 1228 (37.3%) 1117 (37.9%) 727 (36.8%) 728 (38.3%)
  < 4000RMB 356 (10.8%) 311 (10.6%) 218 (11.0%) 211 (11.1%)
Family structure 0.587 0.001
 Single parent 89 (2.7%) 81 (2.7%) 51 (2.6%) 49 (2.6%)
 Nuclear family 1864 (56.7%) 1697 (57.6%) 1141 (57.8%) 1098 (57.7%)
 Extended family 1336 (40.6%) 1169 (39.7%) 783 (39.6%) 755 (39.7%)
Mother’s education level 6.026* 4.590
 College and above 2442 (74.2%) 2243 (76.1%) 1464 (74.1%) 1458 (76.7%)
 Secondary education 509 (15.5%) 454 (15.4%) 310 (15.7%) 285 (15.0%)
 Primary education 338 (10.3%) 250 (8.5%) 201 (10.2%) 159 (8.4%)
Father’s education level 2.524 2.290
 College and above 2439 (74.2%) 2234 (75.8%) 1456 (73.7%) 1440 (75.7%)
 Secondary education 564 (17.1%) 482 (16.4%) 347 (17.6%) 316 (16.6%)
 Primary education 286 (8.7%) 231 (7.8%) 172 (8.7%) 146 (7.7%)
First-degree relative with allergies 897 (27.3%) 767 (26.0%) 1.234 471 (23.8%) 427 (22.5%) 1.064
Obstetric and parental health condition
 Gestational weeks 2.022 2.113
  Premature delivery 248 (7.6%) 202 (6.9%) 142 (7.2%) 124 (6.6%)
  Post-term delivery 128 (3.9%) 130 (4.5%) 69 (3.5%) 81 (4.3%)
  Term delivery 2890 (88.5%) 2589 (88.6%) 1754 (89.3%) 1679 (89.1%)
Delivery mode 6.525* 7.401**
 Cesarean delivery 1717 (52.2%) 1443 (49.0%) 1025 (51.9%) 904 (47.5%)
 Vaginal delivery/ midwifery 1572 (47.8%) 1504 (51.0%) 950 (48.1%) 998 (52.5%)
Mother’s age at delivery 0.612 1.101
  ≥ 30 1286 (39.6%) 1139 (39.2%) 765 (39.2%) 731 (39.0%)
 25–29 1458 (44.9%) 1332 (45.9%) 875 (44.8%) 864 (46.1%)
  ≤ 24 500 (15.4%) 433 (14.9%) 311 (15.9%) 278 (14.8%)
Full breastfeeding ≥6 month 1885 (57.3%) 1754 (59.5%) 3.112 1151 (58.3%) 1117 (58.7%) 0.081
Gestational smoking exposure 71 (2.2%) 63 (2.1%) 0.003 35 (1.8%) 39 (2.1%) 0.401
Gestational drinking 84 (2.6%) 2878 (97.7%) 0.294 47 (2.4%) 46 (2.4%) 0.006
Gestational hypertension 60 (1.8%) 85 (2.9%) 7.690** 33 (1.7%) 45 (2.4%) 2.374
Gestational diabetes 149 (4.5%) 142 (4.8%) 0.290 87 (4.4%) 82 (4.3%) 0.020
Gestational anemia 189 (5.7%) 200 (6.8%) 2.875 113 (5.7%) 124 (6.5%) 1.075
Pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity 328 (10.0%) 267 (9.1%) 1.453 203 (10.3%) 163 (8.6%) 3.269
Environmental condition
 Farmlands and orchards 574 (17.5%) 518 (17.6%) .017 329 (16.7%) 305 (16.0%) 0.274
 Chemical emission sources 82 (2.5%) 87 (3.0%) 1.242 45 (2.3%) 48 (2.5%) 0.249
 Smog-emitting factory 79 (2.4%) 91 (3.1%) 2.758 41 (2.1%) 56 (2.9%) 2.995
 Large garbage dump 232 (7.1%) 208 (7.1%) .000 136 (6.9%) 129 (6.8%) .898
Respiratory allergic disease
 Asthma 533 (16.2%) a 380 (12.9%) a 13.635*** 150 (7.6%) b 78 (4.1%) b 21.370***
 Wheeze 586 (17.8%) a 427 (14.5%) a 12.650*** 165 (8.4%) b 90 (4.7%) b 20.693***
 Allergic rhinitis 802 (24.4%) a 509 (17.3%) a 47.357*** 225 (11.4%) b 129 (6.8%) b 24.818***

* p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001; #Family income is calculated as RMB/person/month, RMB is China’s currency (yuan)

as Children only with screened respiratory allergies. b Children with both screened respiratory allergies and allergen test positive