Maternal dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites and nitrosamines and selected birth defects in offspring: a case-control study

Huber, John C; Brender, Jean D; Zheng, Qi; Sharkey, Joseph R; Vuong, Ann M; Shinde, Mayura U; Griesenbeck, John S; Suarez, Lucina; Langlois, Peter H; Canfield, Mark A; Romitti, Paul A; Weyer, Peter J

doi:10.1186/1475-2891-12-34

Table 1 Selected maternal characteristics of birth defect cases and controls in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2005

From: Maternal dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites and nitrosamines and selected birth defects in offspring: a case-control study

Characteristics of participants		Control		Neural tube defects		Limb deficiencies		Oral cleft defects
		N = 6698		N = 1170		N = 693		N = 2727
		N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Race-ethnicity^a,b,c
	Non-Hispanic White	3,989	59.6	596	50.9	388	56.0	1,708	62.6
	Non-Hispanic Black	758	11.3	108	9.2	71	10.3	173	6.3
	Hispanic	1,464	21.9	377	32.2	190	27.4	640	23.5
	Asian/Pacific Islander	197	2.9	25	2.1	14	2.0	81	3.0
	Native American/Alaskan	29	0.4	7	0.6	3	0.4	23	0.8
	Other	233	3.5	53	4.5	27	3.9	94	3.5
	Missing	28	0.4	4	0.3	0	0.0	8	0.3
Maternal Education (years) ^a,c
	<9 years	325	4.9	95	8.1	33	4.8	158	5.8
	9-11 years	770	11.5	149	12.7	81	11.7	350	12.8
	12 years	1,627	24.3	332	28.4	185	26.7	761	27.9
	13-15 years	1,784	26.6	328	28.0	197	28.4	724	26.6
	16 years or more	2,096	31.3	252	21.5	188	27.1	708	26.0
	Missing	96	1.4	14	1.2	9	1.3	26	1.0
Age at Delivery (years) ^a,c
	<18 years old	246	3.7	43	3.7	30	4.3	88	3.2
	18-19 years old	465	6.9	94	8.0	53	7.7	190	7.0
	20-24 years old	1,517	22.7	256	21.9	175	25.3	694	25.5
	25-29 years old	1,781	26.6	381	32.6	172	24.8	728	26.7
	30-34 years old	1,741	26.0	244	20.9	179	25.8	615	22.6
	35-39 years old	810	12.1	111	9.5	73	10.5	342	12.5
	40-44 years old	126	1.9	38	3.3	11	1.6	64	2.4
	45-49 years old	11	0.2	3	0.3	0	0.0	6	0.2
	>49 Years old	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
Study Center^a,b,c
	Arkansas	836	12.5	145	12.4	66	9.5	306	11.2
	California	839	12.5	232	19.8	114	16.5	437	16.0
	Georgia	749	11.2	138	11.8	73	10.5	302	11.1
	Iowa	849	12.7	73	6.2	89	12.8	382	14.0
	Massachusetts	568	8.5	68	5.8	78	11.3	189	6.9
	North Carolina	596	8.9	70	6.0	49	7.1	246	9.0
	New Jersey	772	11.5	162	13.9	92	13.3	343	12.6
	New York	720	10.8	138	11.8	73	10.5	328	12.0
	Texas	405	6.1	70	6.0	13	1.9	99	3.6
	Utah	364	5.4	74	6.3	46	6.6	95	3.5
Maternal Body Mass Index^a,c (kg/m²)
	Underweight (BMI <18)	353	5.3	48	4.1	38	5.5	183	6.7
	Normal weight (18.5 -25)	3,585	53.5	544	46.5	337	48.6	1,376	50.5
	Overweight (25–30)	1,443	21.5	243	20.8	164	23.7	569	20.9
	Obese (≥30)	1,037	15.5	259	22.1	121	17.5	479	17.6
	Missing	280	4.2	76	6.5	33	4.8	120	4.4
Folic Acid Supplement Use^c
	No	3,053	45.6	552	47.2	305	44.0	1,330	48.8
	Yes	3,480	52.0	577	49.3	366	52.8	1,340	49.1
	Missing	165	2.5	41	3.5	22	3.2	57	2.1

^a Statistically significant difference in covariate distribution between control mothers and mothers of offspring with a NTD.
^b Statistically significant difference in covariate distribution between control mothers and mothers of offspring with a limb malformation.
^c Statistically significant difference in covariate distribution between control mothers and mothers of offspring with an orofacial cleft.

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ISSN: 1475-2891

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