Table 4.
Birth Outcomes and Maternal Hemoglobin Level in the Study Groupsa
| IFA vs FA |
MMN vs FA |
MMN vs IFA |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome | FA (n = 6261) |
IFA (n = 6252) |
MMN (n = 6262) |
MD/RR (95% CI) | P Value | MD/RR (95% CI) | P Value | MD/RR (95% CI) | P Value |
|
| |||||||||
| Birth weight, g | |||||||||
| Infants, No. | 5905 | 5922 | 5913 | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 3290.6 (391.5) | 3292.5 (389.0) | 3299.0 (392.4) | 1.91 (−12.16 to 15.98) | .79 | 8.34 (−5.79 to 22.48) | .25 | 6.43 (−7.65 to 20.51) | .37 |
| Low birth weight, <2500 g | 125 (2.1) | 129 (2.2) | 116 (2.0) | 1.03 (0.81 to 1.31) | .82 | 0.93 (0.72 to 1.19) | .55 | 0.90 (0.70 to 1.15) | .10 |
| Birth length, cm | |||||||||
| Infants, No. | 5905 | 5922 | 5913 | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 50.0 (1.1) | 50.0 (1.1) | 50.0 (1.0) | 0.01 (−0.03 to 0.05) | .60 | 0.03 (−0.01 to 0.07) | .14 | 0.02 (−0.02 to 0.06) | .34 |
| Gestational age, wk | |||||||||
| Infants, No. | 5906 | 5926 | 5916 | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | 39.6 (1.7) | 39.6 (1.7) | 39.6 (1.6) | −0.03 (−0.09 to 0.03) | .35 | 0.02 (−0.04 to 0.09) | .43 | 0.05 (−0.01 to 0.11) | .08 |
| Preterm birth, <37 wk | 353 (6.0) | 340 (5.7) | 308 (5.2) | 0.96 (0.83 to 1.11) | .58 | 0.87 (0.75 to 1.01) | .07 | 0.91 (0.78 to 1.05) | .20 |
| Maternal Hb level at 24–28 wk of gestation | |||||||||
| Women, No. | 5896 | 5913 | 5904 | ||||||
| Hb level, g/dL | 12.2 (0.9) | 12.2 (0.9) | 12.3 (0.9) | 0.04 (0.01 to 0.07) | .01 | 0.06 (0.03 to 0.09) | <.001 | 0.02 (−0.02 to 0.05) | .34 |
| Anemia, Hb level <11.0g/dL | 452 (7.7) | 327 (5.5) | 323 (5.5) | 0.72 (0.63 to 0.83) | <.001 | 0.71 (0.62 to 0.82) | <.001 | 0.99 (0.85 to 1.15) | .89 |
Abbreviations: FA, folic acid; IFA, iron–folic acid; Hb, hemoglobin; MD, mean difference; MMN, multiple micronutrient; RR, relative risk.
SI conversion factor: To convert hemoglobin to grams per liter, multiply by 10.
a
Data are expressed as number (percentage) of participants or mean (SD) unless otherwise indicated. P values were calculated based on χ2 tests or independent sample t tests as appropriate.