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Table 1 Characteristics of the studied sample

From: The early life nutritional environment and early life stress as potential pathways towards the metabolic syndrome in mid-life? A lifecourse analysis using the 1958 British Birth cohort

 

Men (N = 3395)

Women (N = 3347)

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Metabolic syndrome

 No

2121

62.5

2685

80.2

 Yes

1274

37.5

662

19.8

Metabolic syndrome components

 High systolic blood pressure

1861

54.8

828

24.7

 High diastolic blood pressure

1261

37.1

593

17.7

 Low HDL cholesterol

286

8.4

429

12.8

 High triglycerides

2115

62.3

1097

32.8

 High waist circumference

1090

32.1

1188

35.5

 High HbA1c

101

3.0

61

1.8

Mother’s BMI

 Normal

2 474

72.9

2 396

71.6

 Underweight

129

3.8

167

5.0

 Overweight

648

19.1

656

19.6

 Obese

144

4.2

128

3.8

Adverse childhood experiences

 None

2 482

73.1

2 471

73.8

 One

693

20.4

662

19.8

 Two or more

220

6.5

214

6.4

Mother’s education level

 Left school at 15 or later

921

27.1

903

27.0

 Left school before 14

2 453

72.3

2 431

72.6

 Missing

21

0.6

13

0.4

Father’s social class at birth

 Non-manual

988

29.1

922

27.5

 Manual

2 271

66.9

2 274

67.9

 Missing

136

4.0

151

4.5

Overcrowding

  > 1.5 person/room

360

10.6

408

12.2

  < =1.5 person/room

2 949

86.9

2 870

85.7

 Missing

86

2.5

69

2.1

Birthweight

 Q1 - Low weight

711

20.9

727

21.7

 Q2

935

27.5

871

26.0

 Q3

871

25.7

829

24.8

 Q4 - High weight

763

22.5

828

24.7

 Missing

115

3.4

92

2.7

Mother smoked during pregnancy

 No

2 301

67.8

2 225

66.5

 Sometimes

212

6.2

196

5.9

 Moderately

479

14.1

507

15.1

 Heavily

367

10.8

385

11.5

 Missing

36

1.1

34

1.0

Mother’s age at birth

 23 years or less

866

25.5

889

26.6

 24 to 27 years

974

28.7

924

27.6

 28 to 31 years

770

22.7

732

21.9

 32 years or more

784

23.1

799

23.9

 Missing

1

0.0

3

0.1

Breastfed

 No

956

28.2

922

27.5

 Yes, for less than 1 month

757

22.3

756

22.6

 Yes, more than 1 month

1 477

43.5

1 482

44.3

 Missing

205

6.0

187

5.6

Parity

 Oldest child

1 221

36.0

1 255

37.5

 2nd child

1 151

33.9

1 016

30.4

 3rd child or more

1 023

30.1

1 076

32.1

 38 weeks or less

275

8.1

261

7.8

Gestational age

 38 weeks or less

275

8.1

261

7.8

 39 to 41 weeks

1 970

58.0

1 893

56.6

 42 weeks or more

855

25.2

875

26.1

 Missing

295

8.7

318

9.5

Type of delivery

 Vaginal

3 302

97.3

3 271

97.7

 Emergency caesarean

51

1.5

44

1.3

 Elective caesarean

42

1.2

32

1.0

Smoking status at 23

 Non-smoker

858

25.3

991

29.6

 Former smoker

928

27.3

840

25.1

 Smoker - Less than 10 cig.

201

5.9

293

8.8

 Smoker - 10 to 19 cig.

398

11.7

430

12.8

 Smoker - More than 20 cig.

529

15.6

408

12.2

 Missing

481

14.2

385

11.5

Alcohol consumption at 23

 Moderate

1 412

41.6

1 567

46.8

 Abstainers

346

10.2

1 031

30.8

 Heavy drinkers

1 155

34.0

363

10.8

 Missing

482

14.2

386

11.5

Physical activity at 23

 Physically active

1 254

36.9

730

21.8

 Moderately active

542

16.0

420

12.5

 Inactive

1 114

32.8

1 812

54.1

 Missing

485

14.3

385

11.5

Malaise inventory at 23

 No

2 815

82.9

2 677

80.0

 Yes

94

2.8

282

8.4

 Missing

486

14.3

388

11.6

Education level at 23

 Passed A levels

731

21.5

682

20.4

 Passed O levels

1 119

33.0

1 342

40.1

 No qualifications

1 062

31.3

936

28.0

 Missing

483

14.2

387

11.6

BMI at 23

 Normal

2 299

67.7

2 377

71.0

 Underweight

68

2.0

183

5.5

 Overweight

447

13.2

300

9.0

 Obese

52

1.5

73

2.2

 Missing

529

15.6

414

12.4

Occupational social class at 33

 Non-manual

1 518

44.7

1 981

59.2

 Manual

1 314

38.7

850

25.4

 Missing

563

16.6

516

15.4

Wealth at 33

 Not owner

672

19.8

672

20.1

 Owner - Q1 (Low price)

561

16.5

570

17.0

 Owner - Q2

569

16.8

591

17.7

 Owner - Q3

594

17.5

566

16.9

 Owner - Q4

544

16.0

588

17.6

 Missing

455

13.4

360

10.8

Marital status at 33

 Couple

2 396

70.6

2 496

74.6

 Single

417

12.3

276

8.2

 Divorced or widowed

144

4.2

254

7.6

 Missing

438

12.9

321

9.6