Nurses’Health Study Study (NHS) population characteristics at baseline stratified by breastfeeding exposure. Data presented as means (SD) or percentage, unless noted otherwise.
| NHS Breastfed in Infancy*** | NHSII Breastfed in Infancy*** | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| Participants, n (%) | 46,627 (53.8) | 25,410 (29.3) | 31,214 (31.8) | 59,672 (60.8) |
| Age at baseline, yrs | 44 (6.9) | 40 (6.8) | 35 (4.7) | 34 (4.6) |
| Pregnant mother smoked* | NA | NA | 16.8 | 23.5 |
| Mother smoked in home** | 17.0 | 25.2 | 24.9 | 33.4 |
| Father smoked in home** | 53.7 | 56.9 | 43.8 | 49.7 |
| BMI at age 18 yrs | 19.1 (7.1) | 18.9 (7.3) | 21.2 (3.2) | 21.3 (3.4) |
| BMI at baseline | 23.6 (4.6) | 23.2 (4.5) | 24.1 (5.0) | 24.1 (5.0) |
| Maternal diabetes | 10.4 | 8.9 | 6.9 | 7.2 |
| Low birth weight, < 5.5 lb† | 6.5 | 11.9 | 4.4 | 8.0 |
| High birth weight, > 10 lbs† | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| Father professional/managerial job†† | 24.3 | 28.4 | NA | NA |
| Mother professional/managerial job†† | 8.3 | 9.6 | NA | NA |
| African American | 1.6 | 0.70 | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| Hispanic | 0.78 | 0.44 | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| Current smoker at baseline | 8.2 | 9.2 | 11.3 | 13.8 |
| Past smoker at baseline | 42.8 | 46.2 | 20.0 | 22.2 |