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Table 3 Population characteristics of the pregnant women included, between 1995 and 2007 in England

From: Existing maternal obesity guidelines may increase inequalities between ethnic groups: a national epidemiological study of 502,474 births in England

 

Total

Underweighta

Idealb

Overweightc

Obesed

BMI, mean (SD)

24.7 (5.2)

17.3 (1.0)

21.9 (1.7)

26.8 (1.6)

34.1 (4.5)

BMI, median (interquartile range) e

23.7 (5.9)

17.6 (1.3)

22.0 (2.8)

26.9 (2.4)

33.3 (5.1)

Gestational Age at Booking in Weeks, mean (SD)

13.9 (6.5)

19.4 (10.5)

13.8 (6.2)

13.5 (5.9)

13.1 (5.6)

Booked after 1 st Trimester, n (%)

204,355 (40.7)

5,869 (37.1)

108,930 (39.5)

56,965 (42.7)

32,591 (42.3)

Parity Group, n (%)

 

0

175,826 (37.8)

10,241 (43.2)

102,727 (40.5)

42,265 (35.3)

20,593 (30.7)

1

174,980 (37.7)

8,396 (35.4)

95,497 (37.6)

45,710 (38.1)

25,377 (37.8)

2

81,622 (17.6)

3,700 (15.6)

40,918 (16.1)

22,652 (18.9)

14,352 (21.4)

3 or more

32,172 (6.9)

1,385 (5.8)

14,770 (5.8)

9,256 (7.7)

6,761 (10.1)

Age Group, n (%)

 

<20

51,227 (10.2)

5,324 (20.8)

31,066 (11.4)

9,986 (7.7)

4,851 (6.5)

21-30

243,128 (48.4)

13,496 (52.6)

129,160 (47.5)

62,807 (48.3)

37,665 (50.6)

31-40

198,598 (39.5)

6,566 (25.6)

107,276 (39.4)

54,462 (41.9)

30,294 (40.7)

>41

9,350 (1.9)

257 (1.0)

4,626 (1.7)

2,802 (2.2)

1,665 (2.2)

Ethnic Group, n (%)

 

South Asian

47,867 (9.5)

3,903 (15.2)

18,396 (6.8)

15,752 (12.1)

9,816 (13.2)

Black

22,250 (4.4)

960 (3.7)

9,498 (3.5)

7,185 (5.5)

4,607 (6.2)

Mixed

5,797 (1.2)

418 (1.6)

3,274 (1.2)

1,362 (1.0)

743 (1.0)

Chinese or Other Ethnic Group

11,067 (2.2)

1,016 (4.0)

6,371 (2.3)

2,676 (2.1)

1,004 (1.3)

White

415,493 (82.7)

19,353 (75.5)

234,676 (86.2)

103,130 (79.3)

58,334 (78.3)

Employment, n (%)

 

Not Employed

39,903 (11.0)

3,178 (17.6)

21,676 (11.0)

9,130 (9.8)

5,919 (11.0)

Housewife/Carer

76,584 (21.2)

4,864 (26.9)

37,596 (19.1)

20,278 (21.8)

13,846 (25.7)

Higher Education

7,397 (2.0)

501 (2.8)

4,134 (2.1)

1,800 (1.9)

962 (1.8)

School Age/Education under 18 years

4,318 (1.2)

543 (3.0)

2,981 (1.5)

589 (0.6)

205 (0.4)

Employed

233,264 (64.5)

9,009 (49.8)

130,191 (66.2)

61,154 (65.8)

32,910 (61.1)

Deprivation Quintile, n (%)

 

1 Most Deprived

115,162 (23.3)

6,978 (27.8)

55,649 (20.8)

30,702 (23.9)

21,833 (29.7)

2

101,127 (20.4)

5,437 (21.6)

51,361 (19.2)

27,302 (21.3)

17,027 (23.1)

3

91,508 (18.5)

4,437 (17.6)

49,724 (18.5)

23,985 (18.7)

13,362 (18.2)

4

85,000 (17.2)

3,801 (15.1)

49,105 (18.3)

21,539 (16.8)

10,555 (14.3)

5 Least Deprived

102,454 (20.7)

4,492 (17.9)

62,311 (23.2)

24,826 (19.3)

10,825 (14.7)

  1. a Underweight BMI defined as <18.5 kg/m2 for all ethnic groups.
  2. b Ideal BMI defined as 18.5-22.9 kg/m2 for Asian populations, and 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 for non-Asian populations.
  3. c Overweight BMI defined as 23–27.4 kg/m2 for Asian populations, and 25.0-29.9 kg/m2 for non-Asian populations.
  4. d Obese BMI defined as >27.5 kg/m2 for Asian populations, and ≥30 kg/m2 for non-Asian populations.
  5. e BMI data were positively skewed therefore median and interquartile range also presented for comparison with the mean.
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BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

ISSN: 1471-2393

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