Table 1.
Children’s and parents’ demographic characteristics and children’s anthropometric characteristics in the two groups (healthy children vs. children with gastrointestinal diseases).
| Healthy (N = 787) Ν (%) |
Patients (N = 141) Ν (%) |
Groups Comparison p-Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child sex | Female Male |
394 (50.1%) 393 (49.9%) |
64 (45.4%) 77 (54.6%) |
0.307 |
| Child age group | ≤5 years >5 years |
367 (46.6%) 420 (53.4%) |
99 (70.2%) 42 (29.8%) |
<0.001 |
| Only child | Yes No |
183 (23.3%) 604 (76.7%) |
46 (32.6%) 95 (67.4%) |
0.017 |
| Firstborn | Yes No |
411 (52.2%) 376 (47.8%) |
91 (64.5%) 50 (35.5%) |
0.007 |
| Parental sex | Female Male |
730 (92.8%) 57 (7.2%) |
136 (96.5%) 5 (3.5%) |
0.105 |
| Same sex between child and parent (sex concordance) | Yes No |
388 (49.3%) 399 (50.7%) |
80 (56.7%) 61 (43.3%) |
0.104 |
| Parental age group | <40 years ≥40 years |
581 (73.8%) 206 (26.2%) |
109 (77.3%) 32 (22.7%) |
0.383 |
| Parental education | ≤12 years >12 years |
362 (46.0%) 425 (54.0%) |
49 (34.8%) 92 (65.2%) |
0.013 |
| Working parent | Yes No |
552 (70.1%) 235 (29.9%) |
84 (59.6%) 97 (40.4%) |
0.013 |
| Child’s age (years) | Mean ± SD * Median |
4.91 ± 1.00 5.17 |
4.18 ± 1.28 4.42 |
<0.001 |
| BMI ** (current) | Mean ± SD Median |
15.90 ± 2.22 15.61 |
15.28 ± 1.68 15.02 |
0.001 |
| BMI z-score (current) | Mean ± SD Median |
0.27 ± 1.39 0.23 |
−0.23 ± 1.31 -0.29 |
<0.001 |
| Birth weight (grams) | Mean ± SD Median |
3263.50 ± 450.10 3220 |
3212.09 ± 414.54 3160 |
0.140 |
Note: Percentages refer to the column, i.e., within each group. The two groups were compared by means of a chi-square or Mann–Whitney U test, accordingly. * SD = Standard Deviation. ** BMI = Body Mass Index.