Consumption of low-moderate level arsenic contaminated water does not increase spontaneous pregnancy loss: a case control study

Table 1 Study sample characteristics by case–control status

Factor	Cases (n = 150)			Controls (n = 150)			P-value^a
Factor	n	Median, (%)	Range	n	Median, (%)	Range	P-value^a
Demographic:
Gestational age (weeks)	150	8.0	5-20	150	8.5	5-20	0.256
Maternal age (years)	150	30.0	18.0-42.3	150	27.6	18.8-41.9	0.029
BMI, pre-pregnancy (kg/m²)	148	21.6	15.9-46.6	148	21.8	15.1-36.7	0.838
BMI, interview (kg/m²)	148	22.1	15.9-46.6	150	22.2	16.2-38.5	0.702
Urban residence	108	(72.0)	-	98	(65.3)	-	0.258
Married, living as married	129	(86.0)	-	120	(80.0)	-	0.160
Education^b
University diploma	60	(40.3)	-	68	(45.3)	-	0.652
High school diploma	51	(34.2)	-	45	(30.0)	-	-
No high school diploma	38	(25.5)	-	37	(24.7)	-	-
Health-related behaviors:
Prenatal vitamins during pregnancy	67	(44.7)	-	97	(64.7)	-	0.0005
Smoked during pregnancy	41	(27.3)	-	36	(24.0)	-	0.515
Average daily cigarettes^c	41	10	2-50	36	10	1-20	0.267
Alcohol during pregnancy	12	(8.0)	-	13	(8.7)	-	0.842
Work stress during pregnancy	63	(42.0)	-	71	(47.3)	-	0.339
Home stress during pregnancy	62	(41.3)	-	57	(38.0)	-	0.522
Reproductive history:
Prior pregnancies	150	1	0-14	150	1	0-9	0.038
Prior live births	150	0	0-12	150	0	0-3	0.021
Prior losses	150	0	0-7	150	0	0-8	0.378

^aWilcoxon signed-rank test or McNemar’s χ ²-test for difference between cases & controls; ^bn = 1 missing case value; ^cAmong n = 77 smokers.

ISSN: 1476-069X