Table 2.
Characteristics and health of young women 18.0–25.9 years by parity
| All (n = 1584) | Parity | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Null (n = 808) | Single (n = 645) | Multiple (n = 131) | ||||
| Age in years | 21.6 (3.6) | 20.6 (3.1) | 22.4 (3.3)b | 23.9 (2.5)b,c | < 0.001 | |
| Age at first delivery, n (%) | ||||||
| Under 16 years | 56 (7) | – | 35 (5) | 21 (16) | < 0.001 | |
| 16 – 17.9 years | 217 (28) | – | 163 (25) | 54 (41) | ||
| 18 to 20.9 years | 340 (44) | – | 292 (45) | 48 (37) | ||
| 21 years and above | 163 (21) | – | 155 (24) | 8 (6) | ||
| Single or not living with partner, n (%) | 1460 (92) | 788 (98) | 573 (89) | 99 (76) | < 0.001 | |
| Socioeconomic status | ||||||
| Has high school certificate, n (%) | 928 (59) | 529 (66) | 345 (54) | 54 (41) | < 0.001 | |
| Currently studying, n (%) | 461 (29) | 332 (41) | 123 (19) | 10 (8) | < 0.001 | |
| Receives social grant, n (%) | 621 (39) | 42 (5) | 468 (73) | 111 (85) | < 0.001 | |
| Has own cell phone number, n (%) | 1474 (93) | 746 (92) | 608 (94) | 120 (92) | 0.231 | |
| Has own email address, n (%) | 941 (59) | 529 (66) | 352 (55) | 60 (46) | < 0.001 | |
| Has medical aid, n (%) | 111 (7) | 77 (10) | 28 (4) | 6 (5) | < 0.001 | |
| Anthropometry | ||||||
| Body mass index (BMI) kg/m2 | 24.3 (7.8) | 23.4 (7.6) | 25.0 (8.0)b | 24.7 (6.6) | < 0.001 | |
| Underweight (BMI < 18.5), n (%) | 136 (9) | 79 (10) | 49 (8) | 8 (6) | 0.014 | |
| Healthy weight (BMI 18.5–24.9), n (%) | 744 (47) | 407 (50) | 276 (43) | 61 (47) | ||
| Overweight (BMI 25–29.9), n (%) | 368 (23) | 164 (20) | 172 (27) | 32 (24) | ||
| Obese (BMI ≥ 30), n (%) | 336 (21) | 158 (20) | 148 (23) | 30 (23) | ||
| Waist to height ratio ≥ 0.5, n (%) | 642 (41) | 285 (35) | 295 (46) | 62 (47) | < 0.001 | |
| Blood pressure (BP) | ||||||
| Normotensive (< 120/80 mmHg) | 1167 (74) | 620 (77) | 461 (72) | 86 (66) | 0.014 | |
| Pre-hypertensive (120/80–139/89 mmHg) | 348 (22) | 163 (20) | 149 (23) | 36 (28) | ||
| Hypertensive (≥ 140/90 mmHg) | 69 (4) | 25 (3) | 35 (5) | 9 (7) | ||
| Tobacco and alcohol use, n (%) | ||||||
| Ever smoked tobacco | 523 (33) | 242 (30) | 224 (35) | 57 (44) | 0.026 | |
| Of which, currently smoke tobacco | 312 (60) | 123 (51) | 146 (65) | 43 (75) | < 0.001 | |
| Ever used smokeless tobacco | 394 (25) | 248 (31) | 126 (20) | 20 (15) | < 0.001 | |
| Ever used alcohol | 1079 (68) | 529 (66) | 458 (71) | 92 (70) | 0.061 | |
| Of which, have ≥ 6 drinks/day | ||||||
| Never | 500 (46) | 269 (51) | 194 (42) | 37 (40) | 0.024 | |
| Infrequently (monthly or less) | 481 (45) | 221 (42) | 218 (48) | 42 (46) | ||
| Frequently (weekly or daily) | 98 (9) | 39 (7) | 46 (10) | 13 (14) | ||
| Household food insecurity, n (%) | ||||||
| None reported | 736 (46) | 405 (50) | 284 (44) | 47 (36) | 0.002 | |
| At risk of food insecurity | 326 (20) | 169 (21) | 135 (21) | 22 (17) | ||
| Food insecure | 520 (33) | 233 (28) | 225 (34) | 62 (47) | ||
| Missing data | 2 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | – | ||
All values are presented as median and interquartile range (IQR) unless otherwise stated. Median values are compared using independent samples Kruskal–Wallis test. Posthoc Dunn-Bonferroni correction was used to adjust for multiple tests. Categorical data compared using the Pearson Chi square test
aSignificantly different to null parity (p < 0.05)
bSignificantly different to null parity (p < 0.001)
cSignificantly different to single parity (p < 0.001)