Baseline characteristics of the women enrolled in the Aberdeen folic acid supplementation trial 1966–1967 (n=2928)
| Placebo (n=1977) | Folic acid supplement (mg/day) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 (n=466) | 5 (n=485)* | ||
| Age (years)* | 26.0 (5.6) | 25.8 (5.5) | 25.5 (5.2) |
| Gestational age at booking (weeks) | 17.5 (5.3) | 16.9 (4.8) | 17.7 (5.6) |
| Weight at booking (kg)† | 59.6 (9.5) | 59.0 (8.9) | 59.6 (9.1) |
| Height (cm)‡ | 159.5 (5.9) | 159.4 (6.4) | 159.5 (6.1) |
| Smoked at booking, n (%)§ | 840 (45.8) | 188 (42.2) | 203 (44.7) |
| Social class code, n (%)¶ | |||
| I | 122 (6.2) | 31 (6.7) | 34 (7.0) |
| II | 219 (11.1) | 44 (9.4) | 49 (10.1) |
| IIIN | 204 (10.3) | 61 (13.1) | 63 (13.0) |
| IIIM | 768 (38.8) | 170 (36.5) | 146 (29.9) |
| IV | 330 (16.7) | 70 (15.0) | 91 (18.8) |
| V | 164 (8.3) | 43 (9.2) | 44 (9.1) |
| Undefined or armed forces | 170 (8.6) | 47 (10.1) | 59 (12.2) |
| Parity, n (%) | |||
| 0 | 734 (37.1) | 198 (42.5) | 196 (40.4) |
| 1–3 | 904 (45.7) | 216 (46.4) | 224 (46.2) |
| ≥4 | 339 (17.1) | 52 (11.2) | 65 (13.4) |
Values are mean±SD.
Adapted with copyright permission from Charles et al.28
*Age available for 2868 (98%) women.
†Weight at booking available for 2813 (96.1%) women.
‡Height available for 2860 (97.7%) women.
§Smoking status at booking available for 2734 (93.4%) women.
¶Based on the husband's or partner's occupation at the time of delivery.