Table 1.
Characteristics (%) of the study population by maternal educational qualification at birth (N=7487)
| % | Degree plus | Diploma | A levels | GCSE A–C | GCSE D–G | None | Total |
| Asthma | |||||||
| None | 79.0 | 78.8 | 77.7 | 75.7 | 70.7 | 72.7 | 76.8 |
| Transient | 8.2 | 7.3 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 10.4 | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| Persistent | 12.8 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 15.8 | 18.9 | 20.3 | 15.2 |
| Child’s sex | |||||||
| Boys | 48.5 | 50.7 | 48.5 | 46.8 | 50.7 | 50.4 | 49.3 |
| Girls | 51.5 | 49.3 | 51.5 | 53.2 | 49.3 | 49.6 | 50.7 |
| Maternal age at birth | |||||||
| ≥25 years | 97.8 | 93.1 | 74.6 | 75.7 | 60.5 | 63.6 | 84.3 |
| 14–24 years | 2.2 | 6.9 | 25.4 | 24.3 | 39.5 | 36.4 | 15.7 |
| Maternal ethnicity | |||||||
| White | 89.0 | 93.4 | 93.5 | 94.0 | 92.2 | 71.9 | 92.2 |
| Mixed | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 |
| Indian | 4.1 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 1.8 |
| Pakistani | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 5.4 | 16.6 | 2.7 |
| Black | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 4.5 | 1.7 |
| Other | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.2 | 1.0 |
| Maternal atopy | |||||||
| None | 75.1 | 69.9 | 69.6 | 69.7 | 67.8 | 73.2 | 70.3 |
| Eczema or asthma | 19.8 | 24.5 | 23.0 | 24.1 | 24.2 | 20.9 | 23.5 |
| Both | 4.3 | 5.9 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 11.4 | 5.8 | 6.7 |
| Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index | |||||||
| Healthy weight | 71.0 | 61.5 | 53.9 | 52.8 | 51.0 | 46.2 | 58.2 |
| Underweight | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 7.6 | 3.5 |
| Overweight | 18.8 | 24.8 | 27.4 | 27.4 | 23.8 | 29.9 | 25.4 |
| Obese | 7.4 | 11.1 | 14.9 | 15.9 | 19.5 | 16.3 | 13.0 |
| Breast fed for at least 3 months | |||||||
| No | 59.5 | 62.4 | 74.3 | 78.3 | 91.4 | 87.2 | 69.7 |
| Yes | 40.5 | 37.6 | 25.7 | 21.7 | 8.6 | 12.8 | 30.3 |
| Child’s birth weight | |||||||
| Low weight | 2.8 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 5.5 |
| Healthy weight | 97.2 | 95.2 | 94.3 | 93.5 | 94.6 | 88.2 | 94.5 |
| Gestational age at birth | |||||||
| Not preterm | 95.2 | 93.8 | 93.5 | 92.6 | 94.2 | 90.0 | 93.5 |
| Preterm | 4.8 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 5.8 | 10.1 | 6.5 |
| Maternal smoking in pregnancy | |||||||
| No | 88.0 | 82.3 | 67.3 | 55.5 | 48.0 | 46.6 | 71.7 |
| Yes | 12.0 | 17.7 | 32.7 | 44.5 | 52.0 | 53.4 | 28.3 |
| Alcohol consumption during pregnancy | |||||||
| ≤1 unit per week | 85.4 | 86.1 | 90.9 | 92.1 | 93.1 | 92.7 | 88.7 |
| Any unit per week | 14.6 | 13.9 | 9.1 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 11.3 |
| Wheeze at 9 months | |||||||
| No | 97.6 | 96.8 | 96.9 | 96.5 | 96.0 | 93.3 | 96.7 |
| Yes | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 6.7 | 3.3 |
| Damp in the house | |||||||
| No | 89.8 | 89.4 | 87.5 | 86.6 | 79.7 | 75.8 | 87.6 |
| Yes | 10.2 | 10.6 | 12.5 | 13.4 | 20.3 | 24.3 | 12.5 |
| Tenure | |||||||
| Own outright | 8.1 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 5.0 |
| Own mortgage | 87.1 | 84.2 | 69.2 | 59.8 | 34.1 | 21.2 | 72.1 |
| Part rent/mortgage | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| Local authority | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10.4 | 15.7 | 32.3 | 40.1 | 9.2 |
| Housing association | 0.1 | 2.2 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 15.0 | 19.2 | 5.7 |
| Privately rented | 2.3 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 5.4 |
| Living with parents | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Rent free | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Furry pets | |||||||
| None | 59.7 | 52.2 | 46.8 | 42.5 | 45.5 | 54.3 | 49.7 |
| Not furry | 7.1 | 9.3 | 9.3 | 10.2 | 7.4 | 11.9 | 9.4 |
| Yes | 33.2 | 38.4 | 43.9 | 47.2 | 47.1 | 33.8 | 40.9 |
| Environmental tobacco smoke | |||||||
| No | 97.6 | 93.3 | 84.8 | 79.3 | 67.8 | 62.8 | 87.0 |
| Yes | 2.4 | 6.7 | 15.2 | 20.7 | 32.3 | 37.2 | 13.0 |
| Garden access | |||||||
| Yes, sole access | 94.3 | 93.7 | 89.0 | 87.1 | 82.3 | 78.3 | 90.4 |
| Yes, shared | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.6 |
| No | 3.1 | 4.2 | 8.0 | 10.5 | 13.4 | 17.7 | 7.0 |
| Sibling number | |||||||
| 0 | 18.2 | 24.0 | 29.3 | 24.8 | 22.7 | 18.0 | 24.2 |
| 1 | 58.7 | 53.9 | 49.1 | 45.4 | 41.3 | 35.0 | 50.4 |
| 2 or more | 23.1 | 22.2 | 21.6 | 29.8 | 36.1 | 47.0 | 25.4 |
| Childcare | |||||||
| Informal | 62.0 | 76.7 | 88.6 | 91.8 | 96.7 | 99.5 | 82.3 |
| Formal | 38.0 | 23.3 | 11.4 | 8.2 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 17.7 |
| Condition of buildings | |||||||
| Good condition | 78.6 | 75.2 | 59.5 | 52.1 | 35.0 | 22.3 | 64.2 |
| Fair condition | 20.9 | 23.4 | 37.6 | 42.4 | 56.0 | 63.5 | 32.5 |
| Poor condition | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 8.8 | 13.4 | 3.1 |
| Bad condition | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Volume of traffic | |||||||
| None | 3.7 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 4.3 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 4.8 |
| Light | 75.6 | 76.1 | 75.2 | 77.2 | 70.8 | 72.2 | 75.8 |
| Moderate | 15.8 | 14.3 | 14.4 | 13.9 | 17.0 | 16.1 | 14.5 |
| Heavy | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 4.9 |
| Litter in the street | |||||||
| None | 92.7 | 90.2 | 81.4 | 73.2 | 58.4 | 45.3 | 82.2 |
| Some | 7.2 | 9.3 | 17.7 | 24.7 | 38.2 | 47.4 | 16.5 |
| Everywhere | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 7.3 | 1.3 |
| Good area | |||||||
| Excellent | 50.0 | 44.0 | 31.6 | 27.9 | 17.1 | 16.0 | 36.8 |
| Good | 38.0 | 40.8 | 40.7 | 39.5 | 40.1 | 35.6 | 40.0 |
| Average | 9.9 | 12.8 | 20.5 | 24.0 | 29.1 | 31.5 | 17.6 |
| Poor | 2.1 | 1.9 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 8.0 | 10.1 | 3.8 |
| Very poor | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 1.8 |
GCSE, General Certificate of Secondary Education.