| Variable | All | Nulliparous | Parous |
| 508 (6512) | 92 (1172) | 416 (5340) | |
| General characteristics | |||
| Age (years)† | 39.4 (16.4) | 29.9 (14.7) | 40.1 (15.1)* |
| Education (years)† | 8.1 (4.1) | 10.9 (3.5) | 7.7 (4.1)* |
| Education <8 years (%) | 42.3 | 13.8 | 48.8* |
| Annual income <$3000 (%) | 43.8 | 45.1 | 43.5 |
| Employed (%) | 22.9 | 35.8 | 20.1* |
| Married (%) | 66.9 | 13.7 | 78.5* |
| Habits | |||
| Cigarettes/day (only smokers)† | 9.7 (8.9) | 12.6 (12.2) | 8.9 (7.8) |
| Smokers (%) | 25.3 | 25.4 | 25.3 |
| Never smoked (%) | 33.1 | 42.5 | 30.5* |
| Smoking cessation (%) | 41.6 | 31.0 | 43.9* |
| Alcohol consumption (%)‡ | 8.5 | 12.7 | 7.6* |
| Cardiovascular profile | |||
| Heart rate (beats/min)† | 75.7 (10.9) | 76.9 (12.1) | 75.5 (10.6) |
| Systolic pressure (mm Hg)† | 126.0 (21.2) | 120.0 (22.2) | 127.3 (20.7) |
| Diastolic pressure (mm Hg)† | 79.0 (12.1) | 74.9 (11.9) | 79.9 (11.9) |
| Hypertension (%) | 29.7 | 17.0 | 32.4* |
| Metabolic profile | |||
| Fasting blood glucose (mg/dl)† | 95.7 (15.9) | 88.7 (12.0) | 97.4 (19.1) |
| Type 2 diabetes (%) | 5.1 | 6.7 | 4.4 |
| Dyslipidaemia (%)¶ | 18.8 | 9.0 | 20.9* |
| Hereditary factors | |||
| Obese parents (%) | 30.2 | 25.6 | 31.1* |
| Gynaeco-obstetric profile | |||
| Menarche (age)† | 12.73 (2.24) | 11.7 (3.7) | 12.9 (1.6)* |
| Use of birth control pills (%) | 9.3 | 2.3 | 10.8* |
| Nulliparous (%) | 17.8 | – | – |
| Pregnancies§ | 3.13 (0.04) | 0.11 (0.01) | 3.79 (0.04)* |
| Parity§ | 2.84 (0.04) | – | – |
| Miscarriages§ | 0.50 (0.01) | 1.18 (0.12) | 0.44 (0.01)* |
| Newborn weight (g)† | 3605 (612) | – | – |
| Fetal macrosomia (%)†† | 20.2 | – | – |
| Gestational diabetes (%) | 2.9 | 1.2 | 3.3 |
| Hypertension during pregnancy (%) | 22.6 | 1.2 | 27.3* |
| Menopause status (%) | 21.3 | 8.4 | 24.3* |
| Use of HRT (%) | 6.8 | 0.1 | 8.3* |
| Anthropometry | |||
| WC (cm)† | 86.8 (13.1) | 79.7 (12.1) | 88.3 (12.8)* |
| HC (cm) † | 101.3 (11.9) | 94.7 (11.9) | 102.8 (11.3)* |
| WHR† | 0.85 (0.09) | 0.85 (0.11) | 0.86 (0.10) |
| WHtR† | 0.56 (0.09) | 0.51 (0.08) | 0.57 (0.09)* |
| Weight (kg) † | 65.7 (12.7) | 60.5 (12.4) | 66.8 (12.5)* |
| Height (cm) † | 154.9 (6.2) | 156.4 (6.2) | 154.6 (6.2) |
| BMI (kg/m2) † | 27.4 (5.2) | 24.7 (5.0) | 27.9 (5.1)* |
| Cut-off points of obesity | |||
| BMI ⩾28.4 kg/m2(%) | 40.3 | 20.7 | 44.6* |
| WC ⩾87.7 cm (%) | 46.6 | 30.3 | 50.1* |
| WHR ⩾0.84 (%) | 52.1 | 42.7 | 54.1* |
| WHtR ⩾0.55 (%) | 49.3 | 30.0 | 53.4* |
WC, waist circumference; HC, hip circumference; WHR, waist-to-hip ratio; WHtR, waist-to-height ratio; BMI, body mass index; HRT, postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy.
*p<0.001 for difference between parous vs nulliparous women.
†Values are means (SD).
‡Heavy drinker.
¶NCEP criteria for lipid profile.29
§Values are means (SE).
††Birth weight greater than 4000 g.