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Table 1 Demographic characteristics, product use, and phthalate metabolite concentrations by race/ethnicity among US reproductive-aged women, NHANES 2001–2004 (N = 739)

From: Vaginal douching and racial/ethnic disparities in phthalates exposures among reproductive-aged women: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2004

 

White (N = 396)

Black (N = 163)

Mexican American (N = 180)

p-valuea

Age (years), %

    

20-29

29

34

42

0.05

30-39

33

32

32

 

40-49

38

34

26

 

BMI (kg/m2), %b

   

<0.001

<25

44

24

26

 

25 – 30

27

25

33

 

≥30

29

52

41

 

Educational attainment, %

   

<0.001

< HS graduate

9

25

47

 

HS graduate

22

24

21

 

> HS graduate

69

52

31

 

Feminine hygiene product use in past monthc, %

Tampon

55

31

22

<0.001

Sanitary Napkin

59

66

63

0.13

Vaginal Douche

14

37

10

<0.001

Feminine Spray

3

16

2

<0.001

Feminine Powder

2

12

2

<0.001

Wipes/Towelettes

7

16

13

0.004

Other Products

3

11

5

0.03

Average douching frequency in past 6 months, %

<0.001

None

83

47

86

 

Occasional (≤1 / month)

11

33

11

 

Frequent (≥2/month)

7

20

3

 

Phthalate metabolite concentration (GM (GSE))d

Mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP; ng/mL)

127 (10.7)

268 (26.5)

247 (26.1)

<0.001

Mono-butyl phthalate (MnBP; ng/mL)

18.2 (1.0)

32.3 (2.0)

23.7 (2.3)

<0.001

  1. aGroup differences evaluated by ANOVA for natural log transformed phthalate metabolite concentrations and chi square test for categorical variables
  2. bData missing for BMI (n =8)
  3. cSome participants used multiple products
  4. dGM, Geometric mean; GSE, Geometric standard error