Characteristics of mothers by alcohol intake during pregnancy reported in three questionnaires*
| First trimester (n=1135) | Second trimester (n=808) | Third trimester (n=384) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-drinkers | ≤2 Units/week | >2 Units/week | p Value† | Non-drinkers | ≤2 Units/week | >2 Units/week | p Value† | Non-drinkers | ≤2 Units/week | >2 Units/week | p Value† | |
| (n=243) | (n=298) | (n=594) | (n=300) | (n=282) | (n=226) | (n=197) | (n=82) | (n=105) | ||||
| Age (years), mean (95% CI) | 29.4 (28.7 to 30.1) | 29.5 (28.9 to 30.1) | 30.5 (30.1 to 30.9) | 0.002 | 28.9 (28.3 to 29.5) | 30.7 (30.2 to 31.3) | 31.8 (31.2 to 32.3) | <0.0001 | 28.5 (27.8 to 29.3) | 30.8 (29.9 to 31.7) | 30.7 (29.8 to 31.6) | 0.0005 |
| Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m2), mean (95% CI) | 25.0 (24.4 to 25.7) | 24.7 (24.1 to 25.3) | 24.5 (24.1 to 24.9) | 0.5 | 25.1 (24.4 to 25.8) | 24.5 (23.9 to 25.0) | 23.9 (23.3 to 24.4) | 0.1 | 25.5 (24.6 to 26.4) | 24.0 (23.0 to 25.0) | 23.9 (23.2 to 24.8) | 0.1 |
| Total energy intake (kcal), mean (95% CI) | 2060 (1778 to 2136) | 2079 (2012 to 2146) | 2162 (2111 to 2213) | 0.04 | 2075 (2007 to 2144) | 2169 (2099 to 2239) | 2181 (2097 to 2264) | 0.08 | 2080 (1990 to 2170) | 2142 (2013 to 2277) | 2156 (2036 to 2276) | 0.5 |
| Caffeine intake (mg/day), mean (95% CI) | 176.1 (152.7 to 199.4) | 174.2 (153.3 to 195.1) | 202.0 (186.3 to 217.8) | 0.06 | 163.0 (139.2 to 186.8) | 158.0 (138.8 to 177.3) | 175.7 (155.8 to 195.6) | 0.009 | 206.1 (171.4 to 240.9) | 223.3 (170.8 to 275.7) | 189.4 (158.9 to 219.8) | 0.4 |
| Smoker at 12 weeks, % (n) | 17.4 (40) | 18.3 (53) | 14.9 (85) | 0.6 | 14.6 (41) | 12.4 (33) | 9.6 (21) | 0.2 | 22.7 (42) | 18.8 (15) | 11.9 (12) | 0.2 |
| IMD most deprived quartile, % (n) | 37.5 (87) | 32.7 (93) | 23.3 (134) | 0.0001 | 32.7 (91) | 21.4 (58) | 16.3 (35) | 0.0001 | 34.1 (63) | 25.6 (20) | 15.5 (15) | 0.003 |
| University degree, % (n) | 34.6 (84) | 39.3 (117) | 43.6 (259) | 0.05 | 35.1 (102) | 49.1 (137) | 51.6 (115) | 0.0002 | 28.5 (55) | 40.0 (32) | 50.9 (53) | 0.0001 |
| European origin, % (n) | 85.5 (206) | 94.9 (283) | 98.2 (582) | 0.0001 | 92.0 (266) | 96.8 (270) | 99.1 (220) | 0.001 | 94.8 (181) | 96.3 (77) | 99.0 (102) | 0.4 |
| Primigravida, % (n) | 36.6 (89) | 43.7 (119) | 53.8 (317) | 0.0001 | 52.4 (152) | 49.8 (138) | 47.9 (107) | 0.6 | 52.1 (100) | 47.5 (38) | 56.7 (59) | 0.5 |
| Preterm labour, % (n) | 2.1 (5) | 6.0 (18) | 4.7 (28) | 0.08 | 5.2 (15) | 3.9 (11) | 4.5 (10) | 0.8 | 7.3 (14) | 7.5 (6) | 5.8 (6) | 0.9 |
| Pre-eclampsia, % (n) | 5.8 (14) | 5.1 (15) | 4.0 (28) | 0.8 | 5.9 (17) | 7.3 (20) | 2.3 (5) | 0.05 | 7.5 (14) | 5.1 (4) | 2.9 (3) | 0.3 |
| Past history of miscarriage, % (n) | 26.3 (63) | 22.4 (66) | 22.3 (133) | 0.5 | 27.2 (78) | 23.1 (64) | 22.1 (49) | 0.3 | 23.2 (44) | 17.5 (14) | 23.5 (24) | 0.5 |
*Division of alcohol intake is based on the Department of Health (2008) weekly recommendations of no more than 2 units/week.14
†p Value using one-way ANOVA for normally distributed and Kruskal–Wallis test for non-normally distributed continuous variables, and the χ2 test and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. Significant difference at p<0.05.
BMI, body mass index; IMD, Index of Multiple Deprivation.