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Table 1 Baseline characteristics of participants by quartiles of total protein and animal protein intakes (% of energy) among pregnant women in Shaanxi Province, Northwest China

From: Dietary protein intake during pregnancy and birth weight among Chinese pregnant women with low intake of protein

 

Total protein intake (% of energy)

Animal protein intake (% of energy)

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

P1

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

P1

Number of participants

1827

1828

1828

1827

 

1827

1828

1828

1827

 

General characteristics

Geographic area (%)

    

 < 0.001

    

 < 0.001

 Northern Shaanxi

36.0

54.8

57.5

61.0

 

48.6

56.9

53.8

49.9

 

 Southern Shaanxi

43.6

25.3

22.7

24.3

 

25.7

22.6

28.1

39.5

 

 Central Shaanxi

20.4

19.9

19.8

14.7

 

25.7

20.5

18.1

10.6

 

Rural residence (%)

84.2

82.4

74.8

62.9

 < 0.001

88.0

83.7

73.6

58.8

 < 0.001

Childbearing age (%)

    

 < 0.001

    

0.012

  < 25 years

47.9

43.0

39.0

36.1

 

43.2

43.0

41.2

38.5

 

 25–29 years

32.7

37.1

39.1

42.2

 

35.5

35.9

38.7

41.0

 

  ≥ 30 years

19.5

20.0

21.9

21.7

 

21.3

21.1

20.2

20.5

 

Maternal education (%)

    

 < 0.001

    

 < 0.001

 Primary school or below

13.3

8.2

8.1

7.0

 

15.6

9.0

6.2

5.8

 

 Junior high school

59.9

59.7

51.4

43.3

 

60.7

57.9

52.9

42.6

 

 Senior high school or above

26.9

32.2

41.5

49.8

 

23.8

33.1

40.9

51.5

 

Farmer (%)

78.3

74.3

70.4

62.9

 < 0.001

80.9

74.4

69.6

61.0

 < 0.001

Household wealth index (%)

    

 < 0.001

    

 < 0.001

 Poor

30.4

33.8

30.7

27.1

 

32.3

34.1

31.6

24.0

 

 Medium

39.2

38.5

37.0

33.5

 

40.4

39.0

35.7

33.2

 

 Rich

30.3

27.7

32.3

39.4

 

27.3

26.9

32.7

42.9

 

Nulliparity (%)

58.1

58.2

58.5

64.6

 < 0.001

50.4

58.0

62.1

68.9

 < 0.001

Passive smoking (%)

23.8

23.3

19.9

17.8

 < 0.001

26.2

21.7

19.3

17.6

 < 0.001

Alcohol drinking (%)

1.6

1.2

1.1

1.3

0.522

1.3

0.8

1.4

1.7

0.125

 > 6 antenatal check visits (%)

50.4

50.1

56.1

63.5

 < 0.001

43.1

49.4

58.3

69.3

 < 0.001

Folate/iron supplements use (%)

88.1

89.9

92.0

92.9

 < 0.001

86.4

90.3

92.5

94.6

 < 0.001

Anemia (%)

19.6

18.3

18.3

17.7

0.494

18.3

20.4

17.6

17.5

0.092

Medication use (%)

19.4

19.8

18.3

18.9

0.711

29.7

19.2

19.0

18.4

0.763

Nutrient intakesb

Total energy (kcal/day)

1772.5

2169.2

2424.4

2687.5

 < 0.001

1902.1

2217.3

2345.1

2589.2

 < 0.001

Protein (% of energy)

8.3

10.7

12.0

14.5

 < 0.001

9.5

10.9

11.6

13.7

 < 0.001

 Animal protein (% of energy)

1.5

2.3

3.0

5.1

 < 0.001

0.8

2.0

3.2

6.0

 < 0.001

 Plant protein (% of energy)

6.8

8.4

9.0

9.4

 < 0.001

8.7

8.9

8.4

7.6

 < 0.001

Fat (% of energy)

40.0

32.3

32.0

33.3

 < 0.001

32.9

32.1

34.7

38.0

 < 0.001

 Saturated fat (% of energy)

8.2

8.3

9.1

10.3

 < 0.001

6.7

8.1

9.6

11.6

 < 0.001

 Monounsaturated fat (% of energy)

19.4

13.7

12.8

12.4

 < 0.001

15.5

13.7

14.3

14.9

 < 0.001

 Polyunsaturated fat (% of energy)

9.2

7.4

7.1

7.1

 < 0.001

8.2

7.6

7.5

7.4

 < 0.001

Carbohydrate (% of energy)

49.7

57.4

57.1

53.9

 < 0.001

57.2

57.7

54.3

48.9

 < 0.001

Vitamin A (μg retinol equivalent/day)

362

333

391

723

 < 0.001

349

332

383

745

 < 0.001

Thiamin (mg/day)

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.8

 < 0.001

0.6

0.7

0.7

0.7

 < 0.001

Riboflavin (mg/day)

0.6

0.6

0.7

0.9

 < 0.001

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.9

 < 0.001

Folate (μg/day)

239

252

291

399

 < 0.001

264

277

295

343

 < 0.001

Vitamin C (mg/day)

53

57

60

72

 < 0.001

57

59

60

62

0.017

Vitamin E (mg/day)

46

40

39

39

 < 0.001

42

42

42

41

 < 0.001

Calcium (mg/day)

483

528

581

676

 < 0.001

472

534

592

669

 < 0.001

Iron (mg/day)

28

29

30

31

 < 0.001

28

29

29

30

 < 0.001

Zinc (mg/day)

5.5

5.6

6.2

7.9

 < 0.001

5.4

5.7

6.3

7.7

 < 0.001

Selenium (mg/day)

26

27

29

42

 < 0.001

25

26

29

44

 < 0.001

Pregnancy outcomes

Birth weight (g)

3227.9

3252.0

3266.6

3308.2

 < 0.001

3231.7

3262.0

3263.2

3297.9

 < 0.001

Gestational age (weeks)

39.6

39.5

39.6

39.6

0.626

39.6

39.6

39.5

39.6

0.361

Sex, male (%)

50.2

53.4

55.6

53.8

0.110

53.1

51.7

54.6

53.7

0.223

Low birth weight (%)

4.3

3.8

2.9

2.2

0.002

4.8

3.0

2.9

2.6

0.001

Small for gestational age (%)

10.9

10.7

10.7

8.4

0.040

12.8

9.9

9.3

8.2

 < 0.001

Intrauterine growth retardation (%)

5.1

4.5

4.2

3.0

0.012

5.6

4.3

3.7

3.3

0.004

  1. Values were means or %
  2. aP values for the differences among groups were derived from χ2 tests for categorical variables and analysis of variance for continuous variables
  3. bMacronutrient intake was present as a percentage of total energy intake by the nutrient-density method, and other nutrients were energy-adjusted by the residual method
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Nutrition & Metabolism

ISSN: 1743-7075

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