Factors associated with prolonged non-nutritive sucking habits in two cohorts of Brazilian children

BMC Public Health

Table 1 Characteristics of mothers and children at birth (frequency and weighted percentage)

Variables	RP/ 1994		SL/ 1997/98		P value***
	n (790)*	wtd%**	n (673)*	wtd%**
Maternal age (years)					< 0.001
<20	131	16.6	199	29.3
20-34	563	71.9	442	66.2
≥35	94	11.5	32	4.6
Maternal schooling (years of study)					<0.001
≥12	93	13.1	14	1.8
9-11	170	22.8	255	37.8
5 to 8	304	42.5	301	44.5
≤ 4	158	21.6	103	15.9
Family income (minimum wages)					<0.001
0-1	38	6.1	154	24.5
2-3	151	26.2	243	38.8
4-5	127	23.5	103	15.6
≥6	240	44.2	128	19.9
Maternal marital status					<0.001
Married	489	65.5	199	30.2
Consensual union	158	20.8	314	46.2
No companion	106	13.7	160	23.6
Maternal smoking during pregnancy					<0.001
Non-smoker	595	80.3	645	96.2
Smoker	160	19.7	28	3.8
Maternal work outside the home					<0.001
No	469	62.0	533	78.9
Yes	287	38.0	140	21.1
Parity (number of children)					0.071
5 or more	46	5.7	36	5.2
2 to 4	423	54.0	321	48.3
1	313	40.3	316	46.5
Preterm birth					<0.001
No	604	85.1	586	91.3
Yes	186	14.9	87	8.7
Low birth weight					<0.001
No	621	89.4	592	94.2
Yes	169	10.6	81	5.8
Child’s sex					0.724
Male	402	50.8	348	51.7
Female	388	49.2	325	48.3

*numbers may not add to total because missing values from same variables were excluded.
**wtd%: weighted percentage. ***Chi-square test.
Ribeirão Preto (RP), 1994, São Luís (SL), 1997/1998. Significant values are in bold.

ISSN: 1471-2458